Into Your Arms
by gleekinout
Summary: *COMPLETE* After the plane they were on crashes, Rachel and Puck are stuck together on a deserted island. Together, the must help each other try and survive while getting to know each other a little better. M for a reason.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Just a warning, I ship Puckleberry like no other, and I despise Finchel. So if you're into Finn/Rachel, I suggest you stop reading now.**

**CHAPTER 1**

"Rachel, honey, time to wake up," Simon Berry said, gently prodding his daughter. The sixteen-year-old brunette opened her eyes, her brown ones meeting her father's green ones before they darted over to her pink clock which read 4:30.

"Dad," she said tiredly, sitting up in her bed and rubbing her eyes with her small palms. "It's 4:30 in the morning. School doesn't start for another three and a half hours."

Simon Berry chuckled lightly. "You must be overworked. Don't you remember you're heading to Nationals in New York City today?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah," she said, laughing slightly. How could that have slipped Rachel's mind? She'd only been talking about it nonstop for the past three months. Ever since they'd placed at Regionals, she'd put all her energy into helping Mr. Schuester prepare the McKinley High's Glee Club for Nationals. After all, they'd be facing some tough competition—even tougher than what they'd faced at Regionals. She wanted to win more than anything. In fact, she'd come up with six different set lists which she'd presented to Mr. Schuester during practice one day. He'd thanked her for her help but said he had the perfect set list in mind.

And he was right. The set list was great. The vocals were great. The dancing was great. New Directions had never looked or sounded better. Everyone was even getting along better than ever. Kurt had transferred back from Dalton, even getting his boyfriend Blaine to transfer with him. Rachel and Finn were back together. Life was pretty great right now.

Rachel hopped out of bed, heading into her bathroom to take a quick shower—after all, Finn would be here at five to bring her to the school, where they'd be taking a bus to the airport.

After she was all clean, Rachel stepped out of the shower, wrapping a fluffy white towel around her tiny body and heading back into her room. She pulled on her normal outfit of a skirt, sweater, knee high socks, and shoes. She did her make up in the mirror and dried her hair before looking over her bag, making sure everything was packed.

She heard a honk outside, meaning Finn was here. She stood up, grabbing her suitcase and carryon bag, heading down the stairs and towards the door, where her dads were waiting to say goodbye. Rachel gave each of her father's a kiss and hug goodbye before exiting their house and heading towards her waiting boyfriend.

Finn waved to Mr. and Mr. Berry before lifting Rachel's suitcase into the trunk of his car. In the back seat, Kurt and Finn were seated, absorbed in a deep conversation about Nationals. Rachel waved to her dads before climbed into the car, turning her head and smiling at Kurt and Blaine.

"Hey guys," she greeted, pulling her seatbelt on while Finn took his seat and started up the car. "You two ready for Nationals?"

Kurt gave her a look, rolling his eyes. "I was born ready for this," he said, taking Blaine's hand in his and giving it a squeeze. Rachel smiled at the couple before turning her attention back to the front of the car as Finn drove through Lima, heading towards WMHS.

Once they arrived at the school, the four juniors climbed out of the car. Finn popped the trunk open and each of them removed their suitcases, heading to the front where the rest of the Glee Club was standing, waiting to get on the bus.

Sam and Quinn (or, as Rachel liked to call them, Barbie and Ken,) were standing by the bus, Sam with his arms wrapped around Quinn as she rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes closed. Mercedes, Tina, Brittany, Artie, and Mike were all standing around and talking while Santana and puck were both leaned against the wall of the school, dozing off. Mr. Schuester was on the bus, talking to the driver.

Rachel, Finn, Blaine, and Kurt all made their way up to the group of people. Mercedes waved to Kurt as he and Blaine walked over to her, throwing themselves into the conversation.

Rachel looked around, noticing Puck looking at her. She shrugged it off, turning her attention back to Finn.

"So, you excited?" she asked.

"Excited, nervous, freaking out," he said with a chuckle.

Rachel placed a hand on his arm. "Don't be nervous. We've never been better. And your dancing's really improved with all that extra practice we've been doing," she said.

Finn nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, it has improved. But only because you're an amazing teacher," he said softly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, his fingers brushing her cheeks, eliciting a blush from her.

"Alright guys, over here!" Mr. Schuester called from the bus. Everyone's heads snapped up and they all headed over. Mr. Schue looked at all of them. "First, I wanted to let you all know how proud I am of you guys. You've achieved so much and you've been practicing very hard. Give yourselves a round of applause."

Everyone clapped their hands, huge smiled on their faces.

"Now, for the flight, everyone's been given a seat partner. And before I hand out your tickets, no complaining about who your partner is. I didn't pick them—the airline did." Mr. Schue reached into his coat, pulling out the tickets. "Once we get to the airport, you're to stick with your partner. Got that?" he asked, looking at everyone.

Rachel nodded her head enthusiastically, assuming she'd be paired with Finn. After all, they were the golden couple. There was no reason for their seats to not wind up next to each other.

"The person who has the same row number as yours is your seat partner," he said, handing out tickets. "And no trading. Your names are on these, so you get who you get," he said, giving Rachel her ticket. She looked down at the seat number. 22B.

"What's your row?" she asked, looking over at Finn. He showed her his ticket. 12D. She frowned, showing him hers. "We're not sitting next to each other," she said sadly.

"Hey, it's okay," he said, cupping her face in his hands. "We'll see each other once we get to New York. Now let's get on the bus. She and Finn took a seat. Puck took the seat across from them while Kurt and Blaine sat in front of them with Mike and Tina next to them.

Kurt and Blaine were talking excitedly how they were seat partners. Some couples just had all the luck. Rachel stared out the window, sulking.

"What's wrong with her?" she heard Puck's gruff voice ask.

She heard Finn chuckle a little. "She's just upset we're not seat partners. I'm row 12. She's 22."

"22?" Puck asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I'm 22 also," he said, showing Finn his ticket. Rachel's head snapped up and she looked over at Puck.

"You're my seat partner?" she asked, a frown on her face.

"Oh don't look so disappointed, Berry," Puck smirked. "You'll have plenty of time to spend with your boyfriend once we get to New York. Two hours sitting next to the Puckasaurus isn't going to kill you."

Rachel let out an annoyed sound, leaning back against her seat, ignoring Puck and Finn's conversation for the rest of the bus ride. Instead, she focused on Nationals. They'd placed, but not come in first at Regionals. Vocal Adrenaline was still amazing without Jesse. But she was positive this time they'd have them beat.

Rachel felt the bus come to a stop and looked up. Everyone was getting off the bus. She grabbed her purse and looked next to her. Puck was sleeping. She let out an annoyed sigh. "Noah, get up!" she said, poking him in the side.

"Geez, what the fuck Berry?" he groaned, sitting up and rubbing his arm.

"We're here. And since we're seat partners, I have to make sure I stay with you, as much as I'd like to do the opposite."

Puck smirked. "Don't deny it. You just want to get into my pants. It's natural," he said as he stood up out of his seat, heading down the aisle of the bus and out into the parking lot, grabbing his and Rachel's suitcases and heading into towards the airport.

"Noah, may I please have my suitcase?" Rachel asked in a strained voice. Why the hell was he carrying it for her? Was he going to steal a pair of her panties and claim they had sex? She wouldn't put it past him.

"Relax, Berry. I'm being a gentleman and carrying it for you. Can't I ever do something nice for you?"

"No. Because every time you've done something nice for me, we've ended up making out."

"That's not—" Puck started to say before realizing it was true. He'd sung her that song in Glee Club sophomore year, and they'd actually gone out for a few days. Then he'd consoled her after she found out about Finn and Santana doing the nasty, and they'd ended up on her bed, their tongues in each other's mouths.

Yes, Rachel was right to distrust Noah Puckerman. After all, for some inexplicable reason, he wanted her. He couldn't even explain it to himself. After all, she was a loser with a capital L. She got slushied in the face daily. He was Noah Puckerman, the kid ever loser, geek, and nerd feared. He threw losers into the dumpster on a daily basis. He was a football star. So why could he never get the petite brunette who was walking with him out of his head?

There was no explanation for his attraction to Rachel. Sure, she was hot. And she was a Jew. That definitely worked in her favor. But she was also loud, obnoxious, annoying, and the height of his eight-year-old sister Daphne. Plus, she dressed like a freak.

But Puck liked her. He genuinely liked her, which wasn't something he could say about most girls he'd slept with. The only other person he'd ever actually liked was Finn's ex-girlfriend and the mother of his bastard child, current head Cheerio of WMHS.

Rachel and Puck made their way into the airport and met up with the rest of the Glee Club who were waiting for them. Rachel flashed Finn a smile, frowning as she stood next to Puck. The trip to Nationals certainly wasn't turning out the way she planned.

When she imagined the flight to New York, she always pictured her and Finn next to each other with two hours of uninterrupted time. No dads there to come in and check on them when they hadn't made much noise for more than 20 minutes. No Kurt constantly coming in and wanting a compliment on the outfit he'd chosen to wear on his date with Blaine.

She had not been expecting to be forced to sit next to Noah Puckerman, listening to him blabber on about football and who knew what else.

The McKinley High Glee Club made their way up to the security line, presenting their tickets and ID for inspection. Rachel and Puck made their way through, sending their suitcases and bags through the screening machine while they walked through the metal detector. Rachel passed through fine and went to collect her things. Puck, of course, beeped.

Mr. Schue looked back at them, an exasperated look on his face. They were on a tight schedule after all. Rachel sighed. "Go on," she said. "We'll be fine. We'll see you guys on the plane." She turned her attention back to Noah, who was getting a pat down by the one male guard while another one waved a metal detector wand over him. It beeped when the guard waved it over his thigh.

Rachel looked at him suspiciously, as did the guards. Puck sighed. "It's a pin from when I broke my leg," he explained. The one guard nodded his head, patting down his legs again, just to make sure he wasn't concealing a gun or anything. He came back clean.

Puck walked over, grabbing his shoes and pulling them on, then grabbing his and Rachel's suitcases. "What gate is the fucking plane leaving out of?" he asked.

Rachel glanced down at her ticket. "C-32," she replied. "And we need to hurry. The plane leaves in 15 minutes."

"Shit," Puck cursed aloud, earning him a few glares from a group of elderly people. Puck grabbed her hand, causing Rachel's cheeks to darken a little. "We gotta book it if we want to make this thing, Berry," he said, rushing down the terminal until they reached their gate. Rachel and Puck both handed their tickets to the woman, who scanned them. They headed onto the plane, looking around for their classmates. Rachel didn't see anyone from McKinley, but then again, the plane was very large. They'd see them when they landed in New York anyways.

She and Puck made their way towards the back where their seats were. Puck put the suitcases in the overhead compartment before taking the aisle seat—Rachel preferred the window seat anyways.

The pilot announced they'd be lifting off momentarily, so Rachel buckled her seat belt, watching the stewardesses go through the emergency protocol. Honestly, she thought it was a waste of time. Planes never crashed. She tuned them out, twisting a lock of hair around her index finger.

Puck stared at her the whole time instead of the blonde stewardess who was having eye sex with him while she demonstrated how to use a life vest. The way she twirled that hair around her finger, it was so innocent. Yet so sexy at the same time. He shook that off. No Puck. She's off limits. She'd back with Finn. And he wouldn't do that to Finn twice. He wasn't that much of a tool.

The engines started and Rachel gripped her armrests. She wasn't the best flier. To be perfectly honest, she'd only flown once before. And she'd been such a wreck after that that her dads agreed that any trips they went on either had to be close enough to drive or they wouldn't go.

She shut her eyes, hyperventilating as the plane gained speed. _Just let it be over, just let it be over_, she repeated in her head. She just wanted to be in the air. The lift off was the worst part for her, anyways. In the middle of her freak out, she felt a warm hand over hers. Noah's hand. Instead of rejecting it, she took it in her own, squeezing it tightly. Well, tightly for her. It probably didn't even phase him. The fact was, Finn was ten rows in front of her with Brittany or Santana or Mike while she was back here with Noah, and his hand was comforting.

Puck grinned inwardly as she took his hand. It was stupid and middle-schoolish, but Rachel was holding his hand, albeit a little too tight for his comfort, but he'd let that go for now. After all, she was clearly scared.

The plane took off without a hitch, and soon they were in the air, flying towards New York. Rachel dozed off at some point, and her head ended up on Puck's shoulder. He glanced down at her, a goofy smile on his face.

A stewardess, the same blonde who had been eye fucking him earlier, walked up, pushing a cart of beverages. "Can I get you anything sir?" she asked, undressing him with her eyes. Puck mentally eye rolled. Could she be any more obvious that she wanted him?

"No thanks. We'll get something in New York," he said.

She gave him a strange look. "New York? This plane's headed to New Zealand," she said before heading up the aisle.

Wait, New Zealand? Did she just say they were headed to _New fucking Zealand?_ Puck took a deep breath. He was just hallucinating. They were on their way to New York…right? Another stewardess walked by him, this one a little older. He looked up at her.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" he asked politely.

She turned her head towards him. "Yes young man?"

"I was just checking, this plan's headed to New Zealand, correct?"

She smiled warmly and nodded her head. "Of course." With that, she walked away.

Puck felt his stomach drop. Somehow, they'd gotten on the wrong fucking plane. That, or this was some really fucked up version of _Punk'd_. Wait, was that show even on anymore? Probably not, but same idea.

Rachel stirred next to him, sitting up. "Are we there yet?" she asked sleepily.

"Uh, Berry?" he said hesitantly, not sure how to tell her they were heading across the world instead of across the country.

"What is it, Noah?" she asked. He felt his stomach flip. Why was it that every time she called him by his real name it sent a wave of butterflies through his stomach?

"I don't know how to tell you this, but we're on the wrong plane."

Rachel shook her head. "Very funny. We got on at the right gate. Here," she said, pulling out her ticket, showing him. Right there, it said C-32. And that was where they'd gotten on. He examined the ticket a little more before he felt himself fill with dread. It said it. _Right fucking there._ Rachel Berry. Destination: New Zealand. Somehow, the airline had fucked up and sent them to New Zealand, not New York.

"Berry, look," he said, pointing out the ticket. He heard Rachel groan. Even annoyed, she had the sweetest voice he'd ever heard.

"I'll kill them," she muttered. "What if we miss Nationals because of this?"

"I think we have bigger things to worry about. Like the fact that we're heading across the country."

She scoffed. "We'll just explain it to them when we land. It'll be okay. I just hope we don't miss the competition," she said, biting her lip.

Puck smirked. "Of course all you can think about is Nationals."

"Of course it is! I want to beat Vocal Adrenaline and rub it in their emotionless, robotic faces that we're better than they are!" she said fiercely.

Puck had to admire her determination. Even though they were headed to the wrong place thousands of miles from where they needed to be, Rachel still thought only of Glee Club. It was cool, if not a little insane.

"Berry, relax," Puck said, draping an arm around her. She shrugged him off, attempting to ignore him.

"Just leave me alone. If I have to spend the next twelve hours with you, I want them to be quiet."

Puck sighed, leaning back against his seat and shutting his eyes. If he was stuck on this plane, might as well catch up on some sleep.

The next thing he knew, someone was shaking him. Puck groaned and opened his eyes, which was when he realized someone wasn't shaking him. It was the plane that was shaking. He could hear people yelling in fear. He glanced next to him and saw Rachel, her eyes shut tightly, holding onto her seat for dear life.

"Berry, what's going on?" he asked groggily.

Rachel opened her eyes and looked at him. "The pilot said we hit some turbulence," she said, the usual confidence gone from her voice.

Puck frowned a little before, for the second time that day, putting his arm around her. This time, she didn't object. Instead, she clung to him, and he could feel her hot tears dampening his shirt, not that he cared.

The plane jerked and the overhead compartments opened, spilling all the luggage into the aisles. Rachel held onto him tighter, letting out a small shriek. Puck had no idea what was going on, but he knew this wasn't good.

"Noah, what's happening?" Rachel asked, looking up at him with her big brown eyes.

"Hey, relax," he said, repeating his words from earlier. "Everything's going to be okay. It's just a little turbulence. Don't worry." Puck wrapped his arms tighter around Rachel as the plane continued shaking. He never let go of her, not even as the plane started losing height. Instead, he just pulled her onto the floor and held her in his arms as the chaos went around above them.

And when the plane hit the water, Rachel had her arms wrapped around Puck, trying not to think about the face that the plane was crashing and they were probably going to die.

Rachel jerked forward into the seat in front of them on impact, knocking her head against the tray table. She lost consciousness and Puck cursed aloud. Everything around him was chaos, but all he thought about was getting the fuck out of there. He grabbed the life vest under his seat and the seat cushion, throwing Rachel's small body over his shoulders.

He made his way down the aisle of the plane, which was rapidly filling with water, coming to a stop in front of the emergency exit. Both passengers there were dead. Puck tried not to think about them as he pulled the door open, letting even more water in. He swam out and up to the surface, putting the vest on Rachel and inflating it.

He laid on top of the seat cushion, holding onto her as they two of them floated away from the burning, sinking wreckage, not sure what was going to happen next.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: OMG thank you all for your reviews/favorites/alerts. I feel like I'm doing something right with this story. :3**

**CHAPTER 2**

Rachel opened her eyes and sat up before confusion took over. Where the heck was she? She should have been waking up in a hotel room in New York. Instead, she was lying on a beach with no idea of how she got here. The last thing she remembered was being assigned Noah Puckerman as her seat partner for the flight.

She looked next to her and let out a shriek. Noah was lying on the beach, sleeping next to her. She jumped up, moving as far away from him as possible.

Rachel's scream pierced Puck's peaceful slumber and he awoke with a start, looking around.

Fuck.

It hadn't been a dream.

The plane really did crash, and now they were stuck on this shithole island until someone got there to rescue them. Puck wasn't optimistic though. He'd seen _Gilligan's Island. _He'd seen _Lost._ If actually being stuck on an island was anything like that, they could be here for a long time. Maybe even forever.

Puck rubbed his temples before looking over at Rachel. She was looking at him with terrified eyes and was hyperventilating a little. "Berry, it's going to be okay," he said with fake enthusiasm.

"Noah, where the hell are we?" she asked. "I thought we were going to New York, not…some tiny island. And where's everyone else?"

"Damn, you must have hit your head harder than I though. What's the last thing you remember?" he asked patiently. Normally, he would have snapped at her, but they were in this together. And he didn't want to freak her out more than she already was.

Rachel bit her lower lip and thought. Puck stared at her mouth, thinking about what it would be like to kiss those soft, tender lips again.

"I remember Mr. Schue ruining my life again by assigning us as seat partners," she said. "Then I woke up here."

Puck sighed. Damn. She didn't remember anything about the crash. He, on the other hand, remembered everything that happened clearly. It kept replaying in his head like a song on repeat. And he couldn't get it to stop.

"Well, to make a long story short, the plane we were on crashed," he said. "So now we're stuck here until they realize the plane went missing and they start searching for us."

"But, where's everyone else? Like Fin, Mr. Schue?" she asked quietly.

"They weren't on the plane. The airline fucked up and sent you and me to New Zealand instead of New York. I have no idea where the fuck we are to be honest. The plane crashed out in the ocean miles away. I grabbed a life vest and a seat cushion and we floated all night until we ended up here a few hours ago."

"So basically, no one knows where we are?" she asked, the panic returning to her voice.

"Yeah. No one knows where we are," he sighed. "And because we're so far from where we crashed, even if they do find the plane, who knows if they'll ever find us."

"So, you mean we're going to be stuck here forever?" she asked, starting to shake.

Damn. What the hell was his problem? He should have been trying to comfort her, not freak her out more. Puck got up, walking over and taking a seat next to Rachel before putting an arm around her shoulders.

Again, Rachel didn't push him away. He felt even worse when he saw a few tears glistening on her cheeks. Fuck. "Hey, don't worry, Berry," he said, rubbing her shoulder. "We're going to be okay. They'll find us. I mean, the great Rachel Berry's gone. You know Mr. Schue's going to have a search team out looking for you. Who else is going to sing all those solos?" he teased.

Despite how hopeless she was feeling, Rachel actually cracked a smile.

"There we go," Puck said, wiping her tears away. "Beautiful." He pulled her into a tight hug, the two of them sitting there.

Rachel sighed after a moment. "Noah, if we really are going to be here for some time, don't you think we should make it a little more livable than just sitting on the beach like this. I mean, we should build some kind of shelter. And get food."

Puck nodded. "Right. You get stuff for the shelter, I'll go hunting."

Rachel shook her head quickly. "Noah, I'm a vegan. You go get stuff for our shelter, I'll go see what kind of fruit this island has."

It was Puck's turn to shake his head. "I'm not letting you go exploring the jungle on your own. You don't know what kind of things live in there. What if something attacks you and I'm not there to protect you?"

Rachel was visibly offended. "'Protect me'? What, you think I can't fend for myself?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Honestly? Yes. You're a girl, Berry."

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Puckerman."

Shit. He'd fucked up again. She only called him Puckerman when she was pissed off. He sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean it like that. I meant I don't want you getting hurt because I was an idiot and let you go into the jungle alone before we knew what was in there. Finn would skin me alive."

Rachel bit her lip. "Apology accepted. So what are we going to do then?"

Puck thought for a moment. "How about we both go look for food first. Then, we'll gather up some things and build a shelter for us to sleep in. Sound good?"

Rachel nodded her head. "Okay, that sounds fine." She got up, holding her hand out to Puck and pulling him to his feet. She dusted off her skirt and looked down at her shoes with a frown. They weren't exactly the best shoes to tromp through the jungle, but they were all she had. Her suitcase was probably at the bottom of the ocean with the rest of the plane.

Puck was already over at the edge of the jungle, looking at Rachel. "Berry, you coming?" he asked, giving her a confused look.

Rachel pulled herself out of her thoughts and nodded, jogging over to where Puck was waiting. "Yes, I am."

The two teenagers headed into the strange jungle, Puck constantly looking around for unknown wildlife that might attack them while Rachel kept her eyes peeled for any kind of food they could eat that wouldn't involve Puck having to kill something.

"Noah, stop," Rachel said, tugging on his arm. He came to a stop, looking at her.

"What is it, Berry?" he asked.

"Look," she said, pointing up at the tree above them. Hanging from it were bushels of bananas. "If I climbed up the tree, I could toss some down to you. We could eat that," she suggested.

Puck nodded his head. "Alright. But I'm climbing. I'm not letting you fall out of the tree and then having Finn murder me when we get rescued.

Rachel sighed. "Noah, cut the act. I know it's unlikely we're going to be rescued anytime soon. So would you just let me climb the tree? I'm smaller than you. It'll be easier for me than it would be for you."

Puck looked a little apprehensive. "If you fall…"

"I'm not going to fall," Rachel said confidently. "You've seen me dance. I'm extremely coordinated. Just give me a boost up so I can reach the first branch," she said, walking over to him and touching his shoulder.

Puck suddenly felt a little warmer under her touch. It felt nice, actually. Very nice.

"Can you give me a boost?" she asked after a moment when he hadn't done anything."

"Oh, yeah," he said, feeling slightly embarrassed. He lowered his hands, locking his fingers together to form a sort of step for her. Rachel stepped into Puck's hands and he boosted her up. Puck averted his glance down, doing his best to avoid looking up Rachel's skirt at her cotton panties.

Rachel grabbed onto the branch above her, pulling herself up into a seated position. She continued climbing until she reached the top where the bananas were.

"Berry! You okay up there?" he called, worry evident in his voice. He bit his lower lip, watching her reach out and grab a bushel, detaching it from the branch and tossing it down to him.

Puck caught the bananas, looking back up at her. "I think that's enough for now. Why don't you climb down," he called.

But Rachel ignored him. She was more concerned about the fifteen-foot snake that was sharing the same branch as her. "Noah," she called down with apprehension. "Noah, there's a snake," she practically screamed.

"Fuck," Puck cursed. This is exactly what he was worried about. She'd go up there and something like this would happen. He could handle a snake. He could jump out and land on his feet and be fine. But Rachel…she was so delicate. If she fell, she'd break her neck and die. And that would be on _his_ conscience.

He wasn't sure what to do. He could climb up after her, but what if she fell while he was climbing. Then, a thought came to him.

"Berry, I want you to jump out of the tree!" he called up.

"Have you lost your mind? I'll kill myself."

"No. I'll catch you. I promise."

"I don't trust you," she said hesitantly.

"If you want that fucking snake to bite you, stay up there. I promise I'll catch you," he said, looking up at her and trying to meet her eyes.

Rachel bit her lower lip. She couldn't say she really trusted Noah Puckerman all that much, but she really didn't have a choice right now. Closing her eyes, she leaped out of the tree, expecting to crash on the ground. Instead, a pair of strong arms caught her, cradling her.

She opened her eyes and saw Noah had indeed caught her. "You didn't let me fall," she said with shock.

Puck chuckled under his breath. "People are always shocked when I turn out to be trustworthy," he said, bending over to pick up the bananas, carrying both her and the food back to beach.

"Noah, I'm perfectly capable of walking," Rachel said, sounding annoyed, though his arms around her felt both comforting and protective.

"I know. I'm just doing this as a safety precaution. You did just jump out of the tree. I don't want to have to save you twice in an hour," he teased her. Rachel rolled her eyes.

The two Lima kids arrived back on the beach a few minutes later, Puck gently letting Rachel climb out of his arms and onto the sand. He put the bananas down before looking around.

The beach was bare—there was nothing on it with the exception of him and Rachel. Plenty of space to build a fire and shelter when they collected stuff to build it with.

Puck glanced over at Rachel who was seated on the sand, staring out at the empty ocean. He walked over to her, taking a seat next to her and putting his arm around her shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry about anything. We'll build a signal fire and they'll find us soon. We'll be here two days. Three, tops," he said, even though he knew in his gut it wasn't true. They'd be lucky if they ever got off here.

Rachel looked at him and smiled. "Thanks, Noah," she said, even though she didn't believe his words. She knew they weren't getting off this island in the near future, but it was sweet he was trying to cheer her up and get the feelings of hopelessness out of her head.

Puck stood up, looking down at her. "Alright, let's get this shelter built so we have somewhere to sleep tonight. Unless you'd rather two shelters," he said, realizing she might want her own space.

Rachel shook her head. "No, one shelter for now. I don't want to be alone. Now when I don't know what's out there. When I'm sleeping, I'd rather have you there to protect me. Just in case, you know," she said, biting own on her lower lip.

Puck had to stop himself from breaking into a huge grin. Rachel Berry had just agreed to spend the night with him. Granted, they'd be sleeping in a shitty shelter made from whatever they could find in the jungle, but they'd still be sharing a…whatever they'd be sleeping on.

Puck took Rachel's hand and the two of them headed into the jungle, picking up sturdy looking branches, leaves—anything they could use to make a shelter.

Rachel stripped the bark off some of the trees, using the strips and weaving them together to make a mat for them to sleep on. They had no pillows and no blankets, but it was something. Besides, it wasn't like they needed a blanket on an island.

Puck spent the day building their shelter while Rachel made the beach more livable. She set up a dressing area, weaving more mats and attaching them to branches so there was some sense of privacy. She also set up a fire pit, though they still had yet to make fire.

They also had yet to find fresh water, which was going to become a problem soon. Rachel suggested exploring the jungle more tomorrow and Puck nodded in agreement. What else could they do except wait to be rescued or wait to die?

That night, Rachel kicked off her shoes before walking into their little beach shack, lying down on the mat. Puck took the spot next to her, his face looking at hers.

"What are we going to do, Noah?" she asked, tears forming in her eyes again. "We're two teenage kids. How are we supposed to survive alone on a deserted island?"

Puck frowned before wiping her tears away. "Hey, it'll be okay, Berry," he soothed, pulling her into his arms and rubbing her back. "We'll build a signal fire tomorrow. And we'll find fresh water. Then maybe we can shower since you're starting to smell," he teased.

She cracked a smile at that, laughing a little. "You don't exactly smell like a rose, either," she teased.

Puck kept his arms wrapped around Rachel, kissing her on the top of her head. "Good night, Berry," he said before drifting off to sleep.

Rachel stayed awake for a bit, lying with Puck's arms around her. It felt nice, comforting. Sure she was dating Finn, but who knew if she'd ever see him again. With that thought in her head, she snuggled into Puck's chest before also succumbing to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

**AN: Okay, story time. So, in case you all don't know, I RP on facebook. Yeah, I'm cool like that. But I don't RP Glee, I RP a Harry Potter OC. I met this awesome chick who RP's James Potter. And we talk like all the time. We hardly ever RP, but James, played by this awesome girl named Chey, is like, my best online friend. And then I found out she liked Glee :3 But basically, I love Chey. And she's the reason I ship Klaine now. So this chapter is for her. I love you Chey 3 Also, no Rachel/Puck this chapter. This is just a short one to show you what's happening with everyone else. Plus a little Klaine action for Chey ;D**

**Also, I'd just like to let you all know how thankful I am for your reviews and such. I never thought anyone would actually like this. It was a weird idea I had in my head and I thought I'd just try it out. Thank you thank you thank you for all your feedback. And, because you all make me so happy, if there's anything you want to see in the story (I don't even know what you guys are thinking) let me know, and I'll try and put it in, just for you ;D**

_Back in NYC_

Kurt groaned, raising his seat to the right position as the stewardess spoke over the intercom, telling them they'd be landing in JFK shortly. He looked over at Blaine, who was staring out the window into the sky.

Kurt took his boyfriend's hand, holding it in his as the plane began descending. He'd spent most of the plane ride sleeping while Blaine was awake, probably staring out the window.

"Hey, you excited?" Kurt asked quietly, staring at Blaine. Blaine turned his head, looking at Kurt, a smile on his face.

"Of course I'm excited. I get to go to Nationals. With you. And we get to spend all this time in New York. We're going to have a great time."

Kurt smiled. Sometimes, he got the feeling that Blaine wasn't happy at WMHS. At Dalton, he'd been a star. He'd gotten almost every solo there. Here, not so much. Rachel and Finn got most solo duets. And even though Kurt complained to Mr. Schue about it, he agreed that the world wasn't quite ready to see two guys serenading each other with "I Got You Babe".

Kurt felt the change in pressure as the plane descended, eventually landing on the runway in New York. Kurt grinned. He was finally out of Lima. Finally out of _Ohio_. And in New York City.

Once the plane had pulled up to the gate, the doors were opened an everyone got out of their seats. Kurt held his hand out, helping Blaine up before opening the overhead compartment and attempting to pull their suitcases out.

Blaine laughed as Kurt struggled before gently pushing his boyfriend aside and pulling them out on his own. Kurt grinned sheepishly as Blaine handed him his suitcase. "Thanks," he said.

Blaine smiled, heading up the aisle, carrying his suitcase. "No problem," he said. "I know you suck at getting your stuff out of there. Just thought I'd help."

Kurt grinned. Blaine really was the best boyfriend ever. He was so sweet and gently. And he never tried pressuring Kurt to do anything. After all, Blaine was Kurt's first boyfriend, and he was in no hurry to rush things.

The two boys headed off the plane and into the seating area where Mr. Schue and some of the other Glee clubbers were waiting. One by one, more and more of the members of New Direction came out until only Rachel Berry and Noah Puckerman were missing.

Kurt wasn't worried. Rachel probably dropped an earring or something and was freaking out, but when the pilot and stewardesses came out, he was a bit worried. They only came out after e_veryone_ was off the plane. And Rachel and Puck still weren't here.

Kurt looked over at his step-brother, Finn, who was freaking out. "Where is she?" he was saying. "Where the hell is she? Did they miss the plane because of that stupid security thing?"

"Finn, calm down," Mr. Schue said. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation. Let's go to the airline desk and figure things out." Will Schuester led the group of kids over to the American Airlines desk, asking to speak to someone who could help them figure out if someone got on the plane.

A manager came over, and after Will gave him Rachel an Puck's names, he started looking into the computer for where the hell they were.

The manager—Mr. Peters—bit his lip. "We may have a slight problem," he said.

"No no. That's not what I want to here. Where the hell are these kids?"

"There was a problem in booking, and Miss Berry and Mr. Puckerman were both sent to New Zealand instead of New York."

"You're kidding, right?" asked Finn, sounding angry. "You have to be kidding, right? I mean, how to you fuck things up that badly?"

"Finn, calm down," Mr. Schuester said, putting his arm on the boy's arm. "Let me handle this." He turned to the counter. "How did this happen? I booked all the tickets together! How could two of my students be sent to a different _continent?_"

"We're trying to figure that out sir. Just give us a moment," he said, looking over everything, trying to figure out where they went wrong.

One of his employees, a young girl who looked only a little older than Mr. Schuester's students, came up to Mr. Peters and whispered in his ear. He looked at her with a shocked expression.

"Are you sure about that Cindy?" he asked her. She nodded her head solemnly before heading back to her post.

Mr. Peters turned back to Mr. Schuester and the rest of New Directions, his expression grim.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news," he said. "The plane your two students were on—the one heading to New Zealand—we don't know where it is."

"What do you mean you don't know where it is?" Kurt asked.

"I mean it's lost. The pilot stopped responding to his radio, and our satellites can't find it on their radar. It just seems to have…disappeared."

"So what happened to it?"

Mr. Peters sighed. "We think it crashed."

Everyone looked at him, shocked. Quinn spoke up. "So Puck and Rachel? Where are they?"

"Only God knows."

**I know this one's really short, but ones that take place with the people **_**not**_** on the island are going to be short. Next chapter should be up by Thursday night.**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

**AN: I'm still stunned at the reaction to this story. Every time I see that little email with a new review or story alert or favorite, I get so happy. Keep it up bbs ;D**

**Oh, and I love Chey :3**

Rachel opened her eyes, her head still resting on Noah Puckerman's chest as he snored softly, his chest rising and falling with each intake of air.

Rachel sat up, taking in her surroundings. Maybe it had been a terrible dream. They weren't really on an island in the middle of nowhere. They were in New York, and for some reason, she'd slept in Noah's room.

Nope, it was true. She felt it in the pit of her stomach, just like she felt the sand between her toes as she stood up and exited the shelter Noah had built for them yesterday.

Rachel took a seat on a giant log on the beach, her face in her hands. She couldn't believe this was happening. She, Rachel Berry, the star of New Directions, was stuck on an island with only Noah Puckerman for company.

She didn't see how her life could get any worse at this point. She hadn't showered since the plane crashed, her breath smelled, and her clothes were starting to border on disgusting if she didn't get something new to wear soon.

She heard a loud yawn and turned her head. Puck was awake now, making his way out of their little beach shack and over to her, plopping himself on the log next to her, picking up a banana from their pile and peeling it, taking a bite out of it a moment later.

"Morning," she said quietly, playing with her fingers in her lap.

"Morning," Puck grunted, his mouth full of mashed bananas. "Sleep well?"

"Oh, yeah," she said softly. "It was nice." Rachel bit her lip, feeling the awkwardness between them. It was like they'd had a one night stand and this was the morning after. Except it wasn't. They'd just shared a mat. It was innocent. Nothing had even happened.

But it had. Emotionally at least. For Rachel at least. She felt a strange sense of closeness with Puck, one she hadn't felt yesterday. He was there when Finn wasn't. Granted, Finn wasn't here, but the fact still stood that Puck was here for her and Finn wasn't.

Was she starting to fall for him? Sure, they'd had good times in the past. Puck was there when he was trying to not be in love with Finn when he was dating Quinn. He was there when she found out about Finn's tryst with Santana. He was always there for her, but she'd pushed him off as a dumb criminal who could throw a football.

Puck looked over at Rachel, stunned she wasn't jabbering at a mile a minute, commanding him to do this or get her that. She was silent, which was odd.

"You okay?" he asked her, giving her a look.

Rachel was pulled from her thoughts when his voice interrupted them. "Huh?" she asked. "Oh, yeah I'm fine," she said, twirling a finger around a lock of her tangled hair. She tried to force those thoughts—the ones where she might be falling for Puck—out of her head, but they refused to budge.

He sighed at her, knowing she was lying, but not want to press the matter and get into a fight. She was the only other person here with him, and he didn't want to get into a fight.

"So listen," he said, looking at Rachel. "I was thinking we should head into the jungle again today. We need to find fresh water soon or we're going to get dehydrated."

Rachel bit her lip. "As much as I hate to say this, you're right, Puck. Plus, we need to find somewhere private we can shower. I don't exactly want to strip on the beach in front of you and go skinny dipping in the ocean just to make sure I'm clean," she said.

Puck chuckled. "Oh, I wouldn't mind seeing that," he teased. He really wouldn't. Puck could tell under the bad clothes she wore was an amazing body, and he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to see that body up close and personal.

He felt a hard smack on his arm and heard Rachel sigh annoyedly. "Stop being vulgar, Puckerman," she snapped. "You do not get to see what I look like naked any time in the future," she said, rising to her feet. "Now let's go. I really would like to be able to shower soon."

Puck grinned at her reaction, getting to his feet as well and following her into the jungle. He watched her from behind. The way her tiny hips swiveled as she stepped over a branch lying on the ground. The way she bit her lip as she paused, deciding which way to go. The way that one drop of sweat slowly inched down her neck.

Puck's full attention was on that little droplet that he didn't notice Rachel had come to a stop until he crashed into her and knocked her over.

"Smooth," she said," standing back up and daintily dusting herself off. "As if I wasn't dirty enough already," she said.

Puck grumbled some form of apology and got to his feet. "Why'd you stop?" he asked, looking around.

"Because of that," she said, pointing ahead. Puck looked, seeing a huge lake complete with a waterfall. The area was surrounded by palm trees and lilies. It was beautiful. It was perfect. But most of all, it was cool, refreshing water. He was hot and sweaty from spending all day yesterday walking around the jungle and building a shelter for the two of them. Without a though, he stripped down to his boxers and cannonballed into the water.

Rachel rolled her eyes, walking over and taking a seat on the edge of the lake, sticking her feet in. The water felt nice. Cool and wonderful. She'd have loved to jump in, but these were her only clothes, and she wasn't about to strip down to her underwear in front of Noah Puckerman.

Puck swam to the surface, a huge grin on his face. This was just what he needed. He turned and spotted Rachel sitting on the edge, her feet dangling in the water. "Berry, come in," he said, splashing her lightly. "The water's great."

"I can't. These are my only clothes. I can't get them wet."

Puck rolled his eyes. "Strip down to that cute cotton bra I know you're wearing and jump in with me."

Rachel's cheeks flushed red at that. "I can't do that. You'd be all over me."

Puck laughed a little. "Berry, I promise to be a perfect gentleman. I'll keep a five foot distance if you want," he promised.

Rachel bit her lip, still hesitant. She didn't exactly trust Puck around herself half naked.

"Rachel, I swear on Jewish God not to do anything inappropriate."

Rachel sighed, standing up and pulling the zipper of her skirt down, pulling the material off her and dropping it to the ground. She unbuttoned her shirt, shedding that as well before diving into the water.

She hadn't changed her mind because Puck promised to be a gentleman. Or because he swore on God. It was because he called her _Rachel_.

Rachel kicked to the surface, swimming over towards Puck who was grinning at her. "You were right. This feels amazing," she said.

Puck laughed a little, doing his best to keep his eyes off her. She really did have an amazing body—that vegan diet was working wonders for her. Plus all those hours of dancing for Glee Club helped keep her in tip top shape. He just couldn't believe it had taken him so long to realize how gorgeous Rachel really was.

Sure, he thought she was hot in a dorky sort of way. But, here on this island, he saw the beauty of her, and not just outer beauty. She was kind, caring, and she'd been sweet to him the entire time they'd been here.

Then, there was her outer beauty. Her perfectly defined lips. Her deep brown eyes, curtained by dark lashes, her long, dark hair…

Puck shook that thought off. What was he thinking? She was Finn's girlfriend. They'd get rescued and she'd go home to him. They'd get married and have a perfect life together. And Puck? He'd end up working as a mechanic or something, stuck in Lima for the rest of his life. Rachel would go on to do great things while he's be stuck as some small town screw up who wasn't even worthy of the school freak.

"Noah?"

Rachel's gentle voice penetrated his thoughts. He looked up. Good lord. If the sight before him didn't give a man an erection, then he must be gay.

Rachel was standing in the water, drenched from head to toe. Little droplets of water rolled down her skin, leaving a wet trail behind them. His eyes focused on her small breasts, which were covered minimally by her bra. Her wet locks hung behind her, but a few strands of hair hung in her face perfectly.

It took all his self control not to seize her and take her right there, but Rachel deserved more than a quick fuck in the water. She deserved epic romance. Besides, he wasn't going to force himself on her.

"Yes?" he choked out, trying to even his voice as the thoughts of Rachel filled his mind.

Rachel looked at P, studying his features. His perfect bone structure, his lips which her just begging to be kissed, and his Mohawk. Oh, what she would give to run her fingers through it…

What was she thinking? She loved Finn. Finn, her boyfriend. The same boyfriend who had slept with Santana Lopez and lied about it to her. What was to say they weren't fucking now that she was out of the picture?

That thought drove her crazy. She didn't know what her boyfriend was doing. Or who he was doing. The simple fact was Finn had done it and she still refused to put out. He was going to get it from somewhere else, especially now that she was out of the picture and Santana was more than happy to let him shove it in her.

"Rachel? You okay?" Puck asked. Rachel turned her head toward him, tears brimming in her eyes. Puck moved closer to her, wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. "What's wrong?"

"Just…I don't know what's happening now that we're gone. What if they don't even care that we're missing? Finn's probably sticking it to Santana. You know how she is. And how they were after he and I broke up earlier."

Puck remembered. After the whole fiasco after Sectionals, Finn had basically flaunted it in Rachel's face that he was banging Santana, reducing her to tears more than one practice. Which was why Puck didn't understand how she could have gotten back together with him.

He'd always admired Rachel for keeping her head held high during those few months Finn was whoring around with Santana, but he'd lost it all as soon as she took him back.

"It's alright," he said, patting her back gently. "Everything's going to be okay. I'm sure Finn and Santana aren't doing it like rabbits," he said a little unsurely. He honestly wouldn't put it past either of them.

Rachel looked up at Puck as he looked down at her. Their eyes met before his lips were pressed against hers, consuming them in an intense kiss.

Rachel had lost all sense of reason. She was sad. She wasn't thinking. Puck was there. She was lonely. Those were all excuses running through her mind about what she was doing. But she knew they were all a lie. She knew the real reason she was kissing Noah Puckerman.

She wanted him.

Puck let his lips continue to meet hers, his one hand resting on the small of her back while his other reached up to tangle in her hair. His tongue traced along her bottom lip before it pushed through her lips and met with hers. She let her hand trail down the defined muscles of his abs before reaching the waistband of his boxers, hooking a thumb into them.

Instantly, Puck pulled away. "Rachel, wait," he said. "We can't do this. Not here. Not now."

Rachel pulled back as well, frowning a little. "Why not?" she asked, the hurt clear in her voice. Did he not want her? Not in that way at least?

Puck shook his head, hearing her disappointment. "No, Rachel. It's not that I don't want this. Really, I do. But you deserve more than a quick fuck in the lake. You deserve romance. Courting. You need to make me work for it. Because you're worth that and so much more."

Rachel looked at him, confusion in her eyes.

"We will do it," he promised. "But not yet. It has to be perfect." He pecked her lips again before running his thumb along her cheekbone.

Rachel wrapped her arms around Puck, burying her face in his chest. His arms snaked around her hips as the two teenagers stood there in the water, not saying a word, but hearing the unspoken words that came from their embrace.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

**AN: Okay, so here's my plan at the moment: every other chapter (or once every 3 chapters) I'm going to do a flash to New York or Lima or wherever the rest of the Glee Clubers are at that moment to show what's going on there (and to give you a sense of how long it's been since Rachel and Puck went missing).**

**PS-does anyone remember that guy Matt from season 1? Well Chey and I never knew he had a name and we made up our own name for him. Anyone want to guess what it was? :3**

**PPS- "**When are either of them going to realize they are in the middle of no where, with slim chances of being found? How about searching for food, sustainable fire, or other civilization, instead of swimming in a lake, making out, thinking of petty relationships or crushes (really, in the situation you're in, you're thinking of your boyfriend? what about survival!). This story sounds like a really bad soap opera, written by my 14 year old cousin." **Dear person who wrote this review, thank you. Though next time before you criticize me, I suggest you look at the** **genre of my story** **(romance,) and remember this is fanfiction. Not real life. Also, if you read the entire story not just that chapter, I've spoken about food and them realizing they're not going to get off the island. Also, you make fire, not find it.**

_Lima_

A month. It had been a month since Rachel and Puck had gotten on the wrong plane and they had just disappeared off the face of the earth.

New Directions had gotten crushed at Nationals. Even with Blaine, they were nothing without Rachel. She really was the star, and it had hurt them not having her there.

Everyone was assuming they were dead now—even Finn. He'd spent about two weeks worried about Rachel before the papers started reporting the plane was most likely on the bottom of the ocean and they doubted they'd ever see the people who were on it again.

He wasted no time moving on, getting back with Quinn a week after her messy break up with Sam. Kurt couldn't believe it. He was supposedly in love with Rachel, but she wasn't even confirmed dead, and he was already with his ex.

Kurt and Blaine, who were still going strong, didn't go a day without talking about the crash and the missing teenagers. Neither was convinced the two of them were dead.

"I know Puck," Kurt said to Blaine over dinner at _Breadsticks_ one night. "Noah Puckerman doesn't go down without a fight. Even if the plane did crash, which I'm sure it did, he wouldn't just sit there and let the plane sink without putting up a fight."

"Alright, so say Puckerman did escape," Blaine responded, looking at his boyfriend. "What about Rachel?"

"He wouldn't just leave her behind. You've never seen the way Puck looks at Rachel. It's almost a protective look. But it's intense. Possessive, even. He wouldn't let her die. Even if she was unconscious, he would have gotten her out of there, I know it."

"So, you think they're still alive?"

"I can almost guarantee it. I don't care what the papers are saying—Puck and Rachel are still alive."

"Kurt," Blaine sighed. "I love you, but you're crazy. There's no way they're still alive. Even if they did survive the crash, it's been a month. No one's found them yet."

"They haven't found the plane either."

"That's because it's on the bottom of the ocean! It took them like, sixty years or something to find the _Titanic_ wreck."

"Seventy-three, actually," Blaine corrected under his breath.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Oh, whatever. The point remains that they could find it."

"That still doesn't explain how Puck and Rachel could have survived all this time. And don't say they're on some uncharted island in the middle of the ocean. Remember, this is real life, Kurt. Not TV. Just because those people survived on _Lost_and _Gilligan's Island_doesn't mean it would happen in reality."

"And how would you know that? I'm just trying to be optimistic. It's like you want them to be dead or something," Kurt said quietly.

Blaine's expression softened. "Of course that's not what I want. I just want to be realistic. And the truth is, Puck and Rachel are probably dead on the bottom of the ocean, and no one's ever going to find their bodies."

After their little make out session in the lake, Rachel seemed to keep her distance from Puck. He was beyond confused. Puck had assumed that after that, they'd be making out every night and he'd give her a romantic night before finally seeing what was under those innocent panties.

Instead, Rachel constructed a second mat for their hut. No more sleeping in each other's arms. She also refused to get in the water if he was in, making him wait in the trees while she bathed.

Puck didn't understand. Had he done something wrong? He thought everything was going right. He was being charming, charismatic, plus he was the only guy here, so what were her other options? Hook up with a monkey or something fucked up like that? Even Rachel wasn't that much of a freak…was she?

While Puck used the next few weeks to wonder what the fuck he did wrong, Rachel used that time to drive the thoughts of Noah Pucker man out of her brain. Or, at least attempt to drive them out.

The problem was, she couldn't get him out of her mind. Not when he was with her every hour of every day. It had been that way all month. Wherever Rachel was, Puck was. They explored the jungle together. They ate together. They slept in the same hut, though thankfully they had their own mats now.

That kiss in the lake had been a moment of weakness she wasn't going to let happen again. She was Rachel Berry. She wasn't going to let womanizer Noah Puckerman talk her out of her panties for a quick fuck on the beach. She just wasn't that kind of girl.

She still couldn't believe she'd let things get that way. She'd almost had sex with him. She, Rachel Berry, had almost slept with him, Noah Puckerman. She was destined for great things. She'd end up in New York starring in _Wicked_ or _Rent_. Noah would be stuck in Lima working as a mechanic at the gas station.

They were too different. There was no way they would ever work, even if was just the two of them on this island. They'd get rescued, and life would return to normal. Rachel would be the star of Glee Club, and Puck would go back to being a bully. That's how it always was.

After all, they'd been together before. Twice. Nothing had ever come out of it. Why would this time be any different?

It wasn't like Puck hadn't tried to get her to start up a relationship. He'd tried romancing her. First he brought her flowers, which she found out she was allergic to. He caught her a fish, then she reminded him she was a vegan. He made a picnic for her, then it rained and they spent the entire day in their hut.

It had been disaster after disaster, and Rachel decided it was better for them to just pretend nothing had ever happened. She'd go back to Finn, they'd get married and live happily ever after.

But was that really what she wanted?

If Rachel was being honest with herself, the answer was no. She didn't want that. What she really wanted was the guy who was currently sitting by the fire pit, starting up a fire to cook some fish for him to eat for dinner that night.

But Rachel couldn't _really_ want Puck. Sure he was fun, but they couldn't date. There were so many other guys out there.

Correction. There _were_ a lot of other guys out there. Now, there was just Puck. No Finn. No Artie. Not even Mike Chang. Just Puck.

That realization hit Rachel hard. She had to face it. There was no one left now except Puck. The fact was they were probably never going to get off this island. There was no one else here except Puck. It wasn't like they hadn't looked—they'd just found palm trees and a few animals. No people. No civilization. No nothing.

"I don't believe it," Puck muttered. Rachel pulled herself from her thoughts and stared at him. "I don't _fucking_ believe it!" he shouted, jumping up from where he was sitting.

Rachel sighed. She was in no mood for Puck's stupid games. "_What_ don't you believe, Puckerman?" she asked. After that day, they'd gone back to calling each other Berry or Puckerman. Sometimes she called him Noah, but he never called her Rachel.

"Look," he said, running over to the water. Rachel looked to where he was headed, but she didn't see anything. Then again, his massive body was blocking everything.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I can't see anything. It's getting dark, and you're blocking everything," she complained. Puck let out a laugh before picking something up and walking back over to Rachel. She saw him swinging something in his hands, which immediately piqued her interest.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing.

Puck ignored her, setting the case down in the sand a few feet from her, opening it up. He grabbed something and shoved it into his pocket, looking at the rest of the case. Rachel walked over and looked in before looking shocked.

"Is that a guitar?" she asked breathlessly.

Puck grinned, nodding his head. "Yes, it is. Someone on the plane must have had it."

"And it floated over here? Do you think more of the suitcases will come here? I mean, I'm not complaining, but I wouldn't mind wearing actually clothes instead of a skirt and bandeau made from leaves," she said, looking down at her outfit.

Rachel was still impressed with herself that she'd managed to make a few outfits from things on the island. She'd pulled off strands of bark from the trees and made it into thread, stitching the large leaves from the various trees on the island into skirts and bandeau tops for her.

Puck shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea. All I know is we have a guitar now."

Rachel gave Puck a look of disdain. "How is a guitar going to help us? We're stranded on an island. I'm pretty sure campfire songs aren't going to help us get rescued."

"No, but they could help our spirits. Face it, Rachel. We've been on this island for almost a month now, and we haven't seen one plane or boat or anything. You've barely spoken to me since me made out in the lake. Face it, we could use something to cheer us up. Besides, I bet you miss singing," he teased her.

Rachel bit her lip. As much as she didn't want to go along with Puck's stupid idea, she did miss singing. She was Rachel Berry. She lived for performing.

"Well, I supposed we could play one song," she finally said.

Puck was ecstatic. "That's the Rachel Berry I know!" he laughed, picking up the guitar, sliding the strap around his shoulders, tuning it carefully. "So what crappy pop song am I giving you the background music to?" he teased.

Rachel rolled her eyes at him. "Just because I'm a girl and in glee club doesn't mean I don't listen to actual music," she said, making a face. "Can you play O.A.R.?" she asked.

Puck looked at her, a little stunned. "Yeah, of course. What song?"

"_Love and Memories_," she replied, standing up and moving next to him. **(If you've never heard the song, go on youtube and listen to it. It's amazing.)**

Puck started strumming the guitar, and Rachel started singing.

Puck grinned as she sang. He'd missed her voice. As annoying as she could be at times, she really had an incredible voice. And she just looked so happy when she was singing. Puck, knowing the song, joined in at the chorus.

Rachel started swiveling her hips to the music, getting lost in the sing. That happened a lot when she performed. She just got consumed in the music, not remembering there were people watching her.

Puck smiled as he watched her dancing and singing. She really was beautiful, even if she didn't think it about herself. He just wished she'd give him a chance to prove himself to her. He could be as good a boyfriend as Finn. No, he'd be better. He'd never dump Rachel. Not ever.

Rachel started laughing as she sang. She hadn't had this much fun in awhile, not even in glee club. There, she was singing because she had to. Now, she was singing because she wanted to.

Rachel finished the song, looking at Puck, her cheeks a little pink but a huge smile on her face. Puck was grinning as well. She threw her arms around Puck, pulling him into a hug. Puck felt the urge to kiss her, but he stopped himself. If she wanted him to kiss her, she would have told him.

Rachel pulled back after a moment, looking at Puck. What was wrong with him? She was practically giving him the go-ahead to make a move. She'd just sung a song with him and threw her arms around him, and he stood there like an idiot.

"Um, I'm going to go to bed now then," she said quietly, giving him a small smile before retreating to their hut.

Puck blinked before it hit him. He was an idiot. Really, he was. She wanted him to kiss her. She wanted him. And he hadn't made a move. He was just as bad as a virgin prom date.

Puck sighed, sinking down onto the log and thinking. Rachel wanted him, which was painfully obvious now. But for some reason, she didn't want to want him. Maybe because he was an idiot? Or because of his past actions? Or because she deserved better than him?

Well, she did deserve better than him. Puck was a screw up. Rachel was a star. But, for some reason, he knew they belonged together. Rachel deserved epic romance, not him groping her on the beach. She deserved him putting it all on the line for her.

And that's exactly what he would do.

**Meh. This chapter kinda sucks. Sorry :/**


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

**AN: OMG thanks so much for all the reviews and everything. It makes me smile so much when I see I have a new review or favorite or alert. Chey, I love you.**

**PS-Oh yeah, Chey and I named Matt Darius :3**

Rachel could tell today was going to be a different day on the island.

Every morning, Rachel would glance over at Noah's mat after she woke up. It was a comfort, remembering that someone else was stuck here with her. And he was always there because he slept longer than she did. Then, she would usually, get up, wash up in the ocean, and get breakfast started before Noah woke up.

That morning, however, Noah was not sleeping. He was not even in the cabin still. She started panicking for a moment. What if he had gotten up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and he'd fallen and broken his neck? Or gotten lost in the jungle? Or was attacked by something?

She jumped to her feet, heading out of the hut in her pajamas. She's sacrificed all of her original outfit with the exception of her shoes and made a new pair of shorts for Puck. In turn, he had given up his boxers and shirt for Rachel to wear to sleep. Of course, he was less clothed, but then again, so was Rachel.

She headed out onto the beach, looking around for Puck. The fire was dying and there were the remnants of his breakfast, but Puck was missing.

Rachel muttered a few harsh words under her breath before looking around the camp. It was as if Puck had just got up and disappeared after he ate breakfast. The whole thing was just strange.

She started really panicking at this point. He could not be anywhere. Rachel and Puck had made a pact not to go anywhere on the island without one another, just to be safe. Yet Puck wasn't here, so where the hell was he?

"Berry!" came a voice. Rachel snapped her head in the direction of where Noah Puckerman's voice had come from, watching as he strolled up towards their camp from the beach.

Rachel started fuming, crossing her arms over her chest. "Where have you been!" she shrieked, using all her self-control to not launch herself at him and punch him in the nose.

"Oh, get your panties out of a bunch and relax," he said, rolling his eyes. "I had to go set something up for later."

Rachel looked at him curiously. "Set something up?" she asked. "Setting _what_ up, exactly?"

"Ah, that I cannot tell you," he smirked. "It's a surprise. You'll find out later. Now you must be hungry. I made you some fruit salad," he said, picking up half of a coconut shell, filled with fruit.

Rachel opened her mouth to protest and _make_ him tell her what he'd been doing, but she just shook it off. He wasn't going to tell her. She'd just have to wait.

She took a seat on the log, slowly eating, though her eyes kept drifting to Puck, who was sitting on the other side of the fire pit, not paying her any mind. Again, that was odd because Noah usually spent all of breakfast staring at her as she ate.

"Noah. Is everything okay?" Rachel asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't it be?" he laughed.

"I don't know. You're just acting…strange," she admitted. Rachel toyed with her fingers in her lap, not meeting his eyes.

Puck let out a loud laugh, shaking his head. "Oh Berry, you kill me. Just finish your breakfast. Then, I was thinking instead of working like we normally, we could go for a swim," he said.

Rachel bit her lip. "I don't know, Noah. I mean, we need to make sure we have enough firew—"

"Berry, relax. We have plenty of firewood. Plenty of fish. Plenty of fruit. We need just one day where we can just have fun for once. All we ever do here is work. You need to relax."

Rachel sighed. "I—I guess you're right," she said as she popped the last piece of pineapple into her mouth, setting the coconut bowl on the ground. She rose to her feet, looking down at Puck. "So, swimming?" she asked.

"Swimming," he laughed, nodding his head and standing up. Puck took Rachel by the hand, leading her away from the camp and through the jungle. Normally, she would have protested something like this, but she did not really care right now. Plus, it felt nice having his big hand around her small one.

Rachel moved a little closer to Puck's side as the two teens made their way through the path lined by tall trees, still uncomfortable venturing away from their camp.

Puck smiled as Rachel moved closer to him. He did not want to say anything, but he could tell something was growing between them. Just from the way she looked at him and the tone she used when talking to him.

He wanted to kiss her, to tell her how beautiful she was, how she made him feel when he was around her, but he was nervous. The great Puckasaurous was nervous around Rachel Berry—that was something he never would have thought possible. However, it was true. She was the only other person on the god-forsaken spit of land. He did not want to fuck everything up, and have no one to talk to.

Puck pulled the branch back, letting Rachel walk through first to the lake on the island. It really was a beautiful area. He had to give himself props for hooking up with her here last time. After all, with the waterfall and all the plants around them, there really wasn't anywhere else on the island more romantic. Well, with the exception of one place, but that was a secret for now.

Rachel walked into the cove, slipping her shoes off, taking a running start, and launching herself into the water, still in her makeshift outfit. Puck grinned, kicking his shoes off and following her into the cool, refreshing water.

Rachel returned to the surface first, laughing and moving her hair out of her eyes. She looked around for Puck before her feet were lifted off the ground and a pair of strong arms was wrapped around her waist.

"Hey!" she shrieked before Puck tossed her back into the water. Rachel kicked back to the surface, giving him a glare. "Noah Puckerman!" she laughed, splashing him.

Puck grinned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Yes?" he asked innocently. "Did I do something wrong?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You know what you did. You threw me into the water!"

Puck laughed loudly, a smirk on his face. "Oh, lighten up, Berry. It's just water. It's not going to kill you," he teased.

Rachel let out an exasperated sigh, but continued swimming around. Even with Puck's splashing and picking her up every ten minutes to toss her back into the water, it was very relaxing. All they ever did on this island was work. Work all day, eat, then sleep. They hardly ever had fun. And, if this was what her life was going to be, she might as well enjoy it. And that life, as much as she didn't want to admit it, now included Noah Puckerman.

After an hour or two of swimming, the two teenagers climbed out of the water. Rachel squeezed out her hair, letting the wet tresses hang down her back as she and Puck started making their way back to camp.

"Thanks," she said, pushing a branch out of their way so they could get back to camp unscathed.

"You're welcome," he replied. "Though I'm not quite sure what I did to earn the great Rachel Berry's thanks," he teased.

"Just…thanks for showing me it's okay to have fun here. I've been so obsessed with getting through each day as quickly and painlessly as possible that I forgot this island can actually be enjoyable. I had a lot of fun today."

"Oh, but the day's not over yet," he laughed.

"It's not?" Rachel asked, looking at him, slightly confused. "We went swimming. What else is there to do here?"

"Ah, that my dear, is a surprise," Puck smirked. He pulled a white flower off one of the trees, handing it to Rachel as they walked back into their camp. "This is for you. Now, why don't you go get dried off and change. I'll meet you out by the fire when you're ready," he said, kissing her on the cheek.

Rachel's eyes darted open. She hadn't been expecting that. She was just confused at this point. Shaking it off, she walked back into their hut, stripping out of her leaf ensemble, deciding what to wear. She didn't have many choices—island living didn't allow for a diverse wardrobe. No dresses, no skirts, no heels. Just leaves and bare feet.

That being said, Rachel did have one nice outfit she made. She'd attacked some flowers onto the leaves, and that was the skirt and bandeau combination she was pulling on now. She used her makeshift comb, pulling it through her hair and tucking the flower Puck gave her behind her ear as she headed out to the fire.

Puck stood up when he heard footsteps in the sand, but he wasn't prepared for what stood before him. Rachel had really made an effort tonight. She was, to put it simply, beautiful. Her dark hair fell over her shoulders, stopping just above her breasts. The flowers all over her just enhanced her beauty.

It took Puck a few minutes to gain his composure before he plastered a smile on his face. "So, I was thinking we get dinner."

Rachel laughed softly, her melodic voice entering his ears gently. Her laugher was a sound he wouldn't give up for the world. "You say that like we have somewhere to go," she teased.

"Well, we do, actually," he said, a smirk on his lips again. "Take my arm and I'll show you."

Giving him a confused look, Rachel took Puck's arm, following him through the sand and across the beach. After they'd been walking for near twenty minutes, Rachel spotted what Puck had clearly been talking about. There was a table set up on the beach, some kind of candle on the table with flowers and a tray of food that was covered.

"Is this what you were doing this morning?" she asked, looking at him. Puck grinned, reaching down and giving her hand a squeeze before pulling her over to the table with him.

He pulled out a chair, letting Rachel sit down before moving it closer to the table. He sat down across from her, lifting the lid off the food.

"Sorry it's not anything better than fruit. Supplies are a bit limited here," he said sheepishly.

Rachel beamed. "Noah, it's fine. Do you see me complaining? You went to all this time and effort to do something nice for me. The least I could do is be grateful." She scooped some of the fruit onto her plate, popping a piece of pineapple into her mouth.

After both kids had finished their food, filling the meal with conversation, Puck rose from the table, walking over next to Rachel and extending his hand to her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, giving him a confused look.

"Dance with me," he grinned.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "As much as I'd love to, I can't dance without music. And how is there supposed to be music since you can't play the guitar and dance with me at the same time."

"With this," Puck said, pulling out a small radio from beneath the table. "It was in that dude's guitar case. And before you say anything, you can't send any messages. You can only hear stuff. And somehow, I got reception on this thing." He turned it on, and an oldies tune started playing. "Now, dance with me. Please?"

Rachel looked at him for a moment before taking his hand and rising to her feet. She walked with him to a clear area of the beach, putting one hand on his shoulder and holding his in her other. Puck gently placed a hand on her waist, and the two of them swayed to the music.

_This is nice_, Rachel thought. No expectations, no pressure. Ever since she'd gotten back together with Finn, he always seemed to be pushing her to go further than she was comfortable. After all, Rachel was still a virgin. She'd always thought she'd save herself until marriage, but being here on this island made her reevaluate everything.

Maybe it was better to wait until she was willing to lose it with someone she really loved. Sure, she cared about Finn and she told him she loved him, but she wasn't sure if that was true. She never seemed to be good enough for him the way she was. She had to change to make him happy. When she was around Puck, he didn't seem to care that she was bossy, controlling, and at times, annoying.

Rachel laughed as Puck spun her around before pulling her closer so her chest was pressed up against his. Her breathing hitched a little and she felt her cheeks heat up. She hadn't been expecting to be so close to him like this. All those thoughts she'd been having ever since they kissed in the lake resurfaced, and all she could see were Puck's lips, which were less than six inches from hers.

Before she could even think to kiss him, the song ended and Puck pulled away from her. "Hey Rachel?" he asked.

That immediately got Rachel's attention. He hardly ever called her Rachel unless he was being serious.

"Yes, Noah?" she asked, looking up at his face.

"Come take a walk with me. I want to talk with you about something." Puck held his hand out and Rachel hesitantly took it. The two of them walked away from their dinner and dance, walking along the shoreline of the island instead.

Puck seemed to be thinking about something. Rachel hardly ever saw him thinking. It was a bit weird.

After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke up. "You know, when we first crashed here, I thought my life was over. And not just because we crashed on this island. But because I crashed here with you, no offense. I mean, you're great, but I always used to think you were annoying and bossy and I didn't know how I was going to last any length of time with just you as company."

Rachel made an insulted sound, yet still kept her hold on Puck's hand.

"I don't think that way now, honest. I mean, I kind of admire you. You're always working and you've never given up, even though we've been stuck here for ages. And, you make me want to keep working every day."

Rachel flushed at his compliments. "Noah, I'm not—"

Puck shook his head, cutting her off. "Let me talk, or I'm going to forget what I want to say and it's all going to come out wrong. You're a great person. You're beautiful, both inside and out, and it always killed me back in Lima that you were with someone who couldn't see that."

"Finn?" she asked.

"Yeah, him. He never appreciated you. He was always trying to change who you were. No one should do that. You're perfect just the way you are, bossiness included," he teased.

Rachel smiled to herself, leaning a little closer to Puck.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is you don't need to change for anyone, especially someone like Finn. Being here showed me that. You're an amazing person." He put an arm around her, fidgeting a little. The words were on the tip of his tongue. All he had to do was say them.

"Noah, are you okay? You seem nervous," she commented.

Puck took a deep breath before turning to face her, a strange smile on his face.

"I love you."


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

**AN: Thank you thank you thank you. I love you all.**

_Lima, Ohio_

Kurt put his pillow over his head, trying to drown out the noise from the room next to his, also known as his step-brother Finn's room. Carole and his dad were away for the weekend, which meant he and Finn were alone. It also meant Quinn was over for the weekend, and Kurt had to listen to her and Finn having sex in the next room at all hours.

Giving up on sleep, he rolled over in his bed, looking at the clock. Thirty minutes past midnight. He had half a mind to throw a shoe at the wall, though he doubted they would hear it, they were so loud.

Instead, he picked up, dialing Blaine's number. He picked up after the first ring.

"Kurt?" he asked, slightly worried. Kurt never called him this late except for that time when he couldn't find his Lady Gaga tickets the night before the concert. Blaine had thought Kurt was going to have a heart attack then. Luckily, Carole had just moved them so they didn't get thrown away accidentally.

Kurt plugged one finger in his ear to block out Quinn's screaming. He didn't know how he'd ever be able to look her in the face at glee club after this weekend.

"Hey, I'm sorry to call you so late," he apologized. Blaine was probably sleeping.

"Babe, don't worry. I was actually helping my sister finish packing. She's moving in with her boyfriend tomorrow," he reminded Kurt.

"Oh yeah, I forgot."

"It's alright. What's up?"

"Are you doing anything right now besides probably planning on going to bed?" he asked hopefully.

"No, I was just going to go online for awhile and waste time until I felt tired. Why, did you have other ideas?" he asked, smirking, though Kurt couldn't see that. Even if Blaine was tired, he'd still go out if his boyfriend wanted to spend time together.

"I just need to get out of this house. Dad and Carole are gone for the weekend and Quinn's been over since Friday after school…"

"Say no more. I'll be right there. We'll go get coffee or something," she said. There was that one dinner on Maple Avenue that was open all night. They could go there.

Ten minutes later, Kurt heard the familiar sound of Blaine's car horn honking. He grabbed his wallet, shoving it in his pocket as he headed down the stairs. He grinned when he saw Blaine waiting in his blue Honda, climbing into the passenger's side and buckling his seatbelt. Blaine gave Kurt a kiss on the cheek before the two drove off, Blaine pulling into the parking lot of the local diner a few minutes later.

The two boys got out of the car, walking inside and being seated at a booth a moment later. The waitress, who looked bored and tired, gave them two menus before walking away.

"Sorry for calling so late. I just couldn't stay in that house any longer with the two of them going at it like they were," Kurt said, his cheeks darkening.

Blaine smiled. "Hey, don't worry about it. I don't mind. I wanted to talk to you, anyways," he muttered, pulling out that morning's paper. "You saw, right?" he asked.

Kurt looked down at the headline, announcing they were calling of the search for the missing flight Puck and Rachel had been on. Kurt had read the article this morning. It said they rescue teams figured it was on the bottom of the ocean, along with everyone who had been on it. They were officially declaring all passengers dead.

"Yeah, I saw this morning. It's not like I didn't expect this," he sighed. "In my heart, I want them to still be alive, but my gut's telling me they're on the ocean floor. Well, their remains are."

Blaine nodded his head somberly. "I know. I went over and saw Mr. and Mr. Berry today," he said.

"You did?" Kurt asked, giving his boyfriend a look.

"Yeah, after I saw this. I mean, it must be so hard for them. Rachel's their only child, after all."

"What happened?"

"We sat around for awhile and let them cry. And then we decided we were going to plan a memorial service for Puck and Rachel. They're calling the Puckermans to plan. And I thought we could help out," he added, looking up at Kurt.

Kurt nodded his head, his smile not meeting his eyes. "Yeah, we will help. It's the least we can do for them. And for Puck and Rachel. I just hope wherever they are now, they're together."

_Back on the island…_

Rachel just stared at Puck, wondering if she'd heard him correctly. Because, if she had, Noah Puckerman had just told her he loved her.

"You…you what?" she asked, still holding onto him, though distancing herself a bit so she wasn't pressed up against him anymore."

"I love you," he mumbled, his enthusiasm draining. She was freaked out. Unsure. But most of all, she didn't return his feelings. At least, that's what he was thinking.

"Noah, you barely know me. I mean, we've gone to school together since we were five, but you don't really know me. We hardly ever spend any time together unless we're in glee club. Do you even know when my birthday is? Or what my favorite food is? Or what my dream is?" she asked.

Puck didn't say anything, but he looked like he was thinking. Rachel sighed. "Noah, just give up. Face it, you know nothing about me."

Puck didn't say anything, still concentrating.

"Noah?" she asked.

"Your birthday is December 18th, your favorite food is vegan cookies the way your dads make them, and your dream was to meet your birth mother, but now it's playing Evita, Funny Girl, and Laurie from Oklahoma on Broadway."

Rachel looked at him, a stunned expression on her face. "…how did you know all that?" she asked quietly.

"Rachel, I may be a jock and a bully, but I'm not an idiot. I listen. I bet Finn doesn't even know that stuff."

Rachel blushed. "He doesn't. He thought my birthday was in June."

Puck smirked. "See? I do know you. And I do love you," he said, cupping her cheek lightly, kissing her forehead.

"I…I think I love you too. And I'm just realizing it now. I've been denying how I felt about you for so long. But you are important to me," she said, resting her head against his chest.

"Rachel, look at me," Puck said. She looked up at him, and his lips met hers. He kissed her passionately, but not forcefully. He was gentle with her, not wanting to push her away. He didn't want her to start avoiding him again.

Rachel pulled back after a few minutes, toying with the hem of his shirt.

"I hate this," she sighed. "We're stuck on this island, and I can't even sleep with you because you'll get me pregnant," she said sadly. Rachel had been thinking about the possibility of losing her virginity to Puck. She'd always thought she'd wait until she was married to have sex, but that looked like that was never going to happen. And now that she knew Puck loved her and she loved him, she was sure in her decision.

Puck stared at her. Wait, Rachel Berry wanted to have sex with him?

"I really want you to take my virginity, but we can't do that. I'm not on the pill, and we don't have any type of protection. This is just the worst timing ever," she sighed.

"Rachel, we can have sex. If you're ready, I mean."

"But, you don't have any condoms. I mean, even if you packed them in your suitcase, we don't have that with us."

"But whoever's guitar case we have did have them," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small foil package. "Guy must have been like me," he joked.

"You knew this and you didn't tell me?" she asked, looking at him suspiciously.

"I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want you to feel like I was trying to pressure you into sleeping with me because I haven't had sex in over a month. You're more important than that."

Rachel smiled a little. He really did care about her. It wasn't some act to get in to her pants. He really cared about her. She stood on her toes, kissing him again. When she pulled away this time, she moved her lips to his ear. "I'm ready," she whispered.

Puck froze at her words. Was she being serious, or was she just teasing him? "Are you sure?" he asked, looking down at her.

Rachel nodded her head. "I am. Noah, we're stuck here. No one's coming for us—they probably think we're all dead. How am I supposed to wait until marriage to have sex? Besides, this is the most romantic way I can think of. You went to all this trouble just for me. And I trust you."

Puck smiled, taking her hand and leading her away from the table. "I set up a picnic kind of thing for later. I thought we could like, watch the stars or whatever. But this is the perfect place for this instead," he said, leading her over to a woven mat, covered in flowers and surrounded by candles.

Rachel smiled up at Puck, kissing him again. He grinned, lifting her into his arms and carrying her onto the mat, setting her down, resting his arms around her waist.

"I want you to tell me to stop if anything is wrong, okay?" he said. "Promise me you will. I don't want to hurt you."

"Noah, I promise. Now kiss me," she said, pulling his face to hers. Instead of the passionate, gentle kiss they shared earlier, this one was filled with urgency and desire.

Puck trailed his hands up from her waist, running them over her exposed stomach and back. He reached the tie on the back of her bandeau, undoing it quickly and letting it fall to the ground. He mentally reminded himself to slow down, that this was Rachel's first time and to make it memorable for her.

Puck took a deep breath before lowering her onto the mat, kissing her cheek softly. He heard Rachel breathe in sharply, causing him to pull back. "Is everything okay? Did I hurt you?"

Rachel shook her head. "No, of course not. I'm just a little nervous, is all," she said.

Puck nodded his head slowly, hovering over her. "I really do love you, you know. I didn't just say that so we could…"

Rachel shushed him, placing her index finger against his lips. "Shh. I know you didn't. Do you think I'd be lying underneath you if I did think that? Now stop talking and just kiss me," she said, pulling his lips to hers.

Puck smiled happily against her lips, kissing her gently for a moment before he slowly deepened the kiss. He slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

Rachel closed her eyes, getting lost against his lips. She reached her hands up, running them over his Mohawk as their lips worked against each other's.

She let out a soft moan as Puck slipped his tongue into her mouth, not pushing him away at all. If anything, she pulled him closer to her, pushing her tongue into his mouth as well, exploring it thoroughly.

Puck moved his hand up from her waist, cupping her left breast in his land. When she let out a gasp this time, her knew it was a good thing. He squeezed it lightly, causing Rachel to arch her back, pressing her chest against his.

Rachel reached her hands down, fooling with the button on his pants, pulling them open and trying to push them off, yet she couldn't reach that far.

Puck smirked. "Allow me," he said, pulling them off and tossing them behind him before getting rid of her leaf skirt as well.

Rachel pulled him back on top of her, and they resumed their kiss. Rachel's hands rested on his shoulders, slowly moving down his body until they rested on his waist. Carefully, she hooked both thumbs inside the waistband of his boxers, tugging them down slowly.

Puck let out a groan, her simple touch driving him wild. He could feel how stiff it was between his legs and how soft her skin was. He wanted to be inside of her, but he didn't want to ruin the moment.

"Rachel, we don't have to do this right now," she said, attempting to stop her, but hoping she'd let him continue. He'd gone over a month without sex, and it was driving him crazy.

"Noah, stop. I'm ready. I want this. You want this. And now I want you to put that condom on and make love to me.

Puck smiled, disposing of his boxers a second later. While he ripped the condom package open with his teeth, Rachel slipped off her panties. Puck rolled the condom onto himself before looking down at Rachel.

She spread her legs slightly for him and he positioned himself at her entrance. "This is going to hurt at first," he warned her. "I'll be gentle, I promise."

With that, he pushed into her. He grimaced as he heard Rachel let out a sound that clearly meant she was in pain.

"Rachel, are you okay?" he asked worriedly. "I can stop this now. I'll pull out."

"No," she gasped. "I'm okay. Just, keep going," she encouraged him breathlessly.

Puck nodded before slowly starting to move inside her. He didn't want to go too fast or hard. This was her first time, after all. It had to be perfect.

Puck slowly pull out slightly before moving back into her, picking up a steady rhythm that was slower than he was used to, but he figured it would be good for her.

Rachel moaned softly underneath him as he continued gently moving in and out of her. "Oh, Noah," she sighed, her hands running over his chest. She felt so happy in this moment. She never thought she'd lose her virginity this way, but she was glad she was.

"Rachel," he groaned, burying his face against her neck as he sped up slightly.

"Oh god, just don't stop," she said, arching her back and wrapping her arms around his neck, running her fingers sown his back. She dug her nails into his skin as she got more and more pleasure from him, feeling bad about it a moment later when he let out a loud moan. "Oh my god, I'm sorry," she said, horrified.

"No, it's fine," he panted. "It felt fucking good," he said.

Rachel smiled before pulling his lips back to hers. Puck smirked before kissing her again, his tongue entering her mouth immediately.

Rachel wrapped a leg around his waist, pulling him closer, letting out a small gasp each time he pushed himself further into her.

At that moment, all she could think about was Puck. How wonderful he was and how amazing this moment felt. She never wanted it to end.

Puck fondled her breast lightly, squeezing it gently as his mouth continued assaulting hers and his hips kept pounding against hers. He'd slept with a lot of people. A good portion of the girls in the school. But it was never like this. Maybe it was because this time, he actually cared about the girl he was with.

Rachel started getting more into it, her hips meeting each of his thrusts, allowing him to go deeper and hit that one spot that made her cry out in pleasure. "Oh, Noah!" she shrieked. Puck was just glad they were the only ones here. With her screams, she would have woken up the whole neighborhood, but that was another thing he loved about her.

Rachel's breathing started to get a little uneven, and he saw the sweat pooling off her forehead. And when he felt her contract around his dick, he knew she came. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, pulling her close and thrusting his hips into hers hard, trying to get himself to finish, which he did a minute later. He came into the condom before collapsing on top of her.

Puck pulled out of her, rolling off her and lying on the mat. He reached over, taking her hand. "How do you feel?" he eventually asked.

Rachel looked over at him, a huge smile on her face. "I feel great!" she beamed. "I've never felt so happy in my life. That was the most incredible experience in my life."

Puck grinned, pulling her closer. Normally, he wasn't a cuddler after sex, but everything seemed to be different with Rachel, and right now, he just wanted to be close to her.

Reaching down, he pulled the condom off, tossing it onto the beach somewhere. "So, it was worth it to lose your virginity to dumb Noah Puckerman?" he teased.

"Yes, completely worth it."

Puck smiled for a minute before looking at her, a serious look on his face. "Rachel, I have a question for you," he said, trying to keep a straight face.

"What is it?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

"Will you be my island girlfriend?"

"Island girlfriend?" she asked, laughing a little.

"Yeah. You know, the one I get coconuts with. The one I go to the waterfall with and pretend to be weak so she can dunk me. The one I'm going to use the rest of these condoms with," he teased.

Rachel rolled her eyes, blushing a little. She hit him on the chest before kissing him again. "What, you think just because we had sex that now I want to go steady with you?" she joked.

"Aw, damn, is that a no?"

"No, it's a yes. Of course I will be. But don't think this means I'll one day want to be your island wife as well," she teased.

"I'd never even dream of asking," he said, rubbing her back lightly as the two of them stared up at the stars, just enjoying each other's company.


	8. Author's Note

Author's Note

Hey. I haven't died, I'm just having major writer's block. I'm not sure what to have happen at the moment, but I know where I want the story to go. So once I can get my general ideas into a woking plot, I'll write a chapter and post it. I promise.

-Laura


	9. Another Author's Note

Author's Note

This is an apology to everyone. There's two reasons I haven't updated for quite a bit. One, I lost my inspiration for a bit and had no idea what to write so I took a break. Also, school started up again, and I don't have time to sit down and write a chapter for a story. I may have time to put up another chapter next week, but I'm making no promises. I'm going to try to write one on the plane this week when I fly home for the weekend. I'm just going to have to remember what I wanted to do next.

~Laura


	10. Chapter 8

_Lima, Ohio_

It felt like it had been ages since Rachel and Puck had disappeared without a trace. Life at McKinley had gone back to normal. People went to classes, did their homework, and took tests. Even glee club seemed to go back to normal. Even they all seemed to forget two of their members were missing.

Well, everybody except Kurt.

Sure, they had disappeared four months prior, but that didn't mean they were dead. Kurt knew it was a long shot, but he wasn't going to give up hope that somehow Rachel and Puck had managed to survive the crash.

Even he knew how crazy that sounded. And after four months without any sort of sign that they were alive, even Kurt was beginning to lose hope.

Rachel's dads refused to give up. They were using all of their money to hire private investigators and rent boats, never giving up looking for their only daughter.

Mr. Schuester had replaced them both with Santana singing most of the lead female parts. Finn seemed to forget Rachel had ever existed, and all the girls started going to Sam Evans for all their sex needs. Who would have guessed?

But Kurt couldn't give up. Not completely at least. He had to hope they were alive.

Even if they had survived the plane crashing, how were they supposed to have survived all this time on some isolated spit of land that clearly no one knew existed?

Though Kurt kept his hopes alive that, one day, he would hear Rachel Berry's irritating voice again. After all, how the hell were they supposed to win sectionals without her?

_Back on the island…_

Rachel and Puck had fallen into a routine after a bit. They'd wake up, eat, and then go bathe in the river. After that, they'd spend the day on the beach, playing games like tic-tac-toe and hide and seek, Rachel better at the later. They'd eat again, then explore for a while, mapping out the island. Puck would then catch and cook dinner. After they ate, they'd spend time together. Sometimes they had sex, sometimes they just cuddled under the stars. Sometimes they'd sing. They'd go to bed, then repeat it all the next day.

Puck had managed to convince Rachel to eat fish. After two months, she had lost a lot of weight. And she had been getting weak. After she passed out climbing a tree to get more bananas, Puck had basically forced fish in her mouth.

She agreed after that to start eating some protein. She was still too skinny in Puck's opinion, but at least she wasn't fainting every day.

Both Puck and Rachel had given up hope of ever being rescued. It had been four months, and no one had found them yet. They hadn't even seen a plane fly over them. Maybe no one cared enough about them to rescue them.

But they had to. At least her dad's did. They'd never give up looking for her…right? They'd always promised that if anything ever happened to her, they'd never stop looking for her. But this was different. If they'd found the plane, they'd have no reason to look for her.

Rachel frowned a little, a few tears leaking out of her eyes. She missed her fathers more than anything else. After four months, she'd forgotten about Finn. All she cared about now was Puck. But her dads—she couldn't forget about them.

Puck looked over at Rachel eating her breakfast. She looked unhappy. In fact, she looked more than unhappy. She looked sad, and she was crying. "Rachel?" he asked, looking at her. "What's wrong?"

Rachel looked up, pulled out of her thoughts, wiping her eyes. "Nothing," she lied. "I'm fine,"

Puck sighed, standing up and sitting next to her, putting his one arm around her shoulders, holding her close. "You're lying. You can tell me what's wrong—I won't get mad," he promised, though if she said she missed Finn, he might lose his mind. He thought he'd driven all thoughts of his best friend out of her head, but maybe he was wrong.

Rachel looked up at him, wiping her eyes again. "It's my dads. It's been months since I saw them last, but I don't know if they're even looking for me anymore."

"Of course they are, Rachel. Why would they stop looking for their only daughter?" he said, trying to reassure her, though it didn't seem to be working.

Rachel shook her head. "It's been forever. They have to think I'm dead. There's no way they're still looking for me," she said.

"You're the only thing they have in their lives. Why would they just give up? No parents gives up looking for their child, no matter what," he said, cupping her cheek.

Rachel sniffled a little, not completely convinced. "Yeah, but what if they found the sunken plane?"

"Well, then they should find us. We can't have drifted that far from the plane after we crashed in the water." Puck smiled, burying his face in her hair. "Whatever you're using to clean your hair, it smells amazing," he said, hoping to cheer her up.

Rachel smiled up at him a little. "It's just fruits and stuff," she said with a shrug. "You really think it smells good?"

"Of course it does," Puck grinned. "It smells amazing." He leaned in close, his lips pressing against her neck. "Your skin smells like it too," he mumbled against her.

Rachel blushed slightly, her hands resting on his shoulders. "Well, I use it as soap too."

"Shit Berry, this is really turning me on right now," he growled, Puck's hands moving down to her waist. His lips moved across the pale skin of her neck, leaving a trail of wet kisses across her collarbone.

"Noah," Rachel whispered hoarsely, her bony fingers clutching his shirt, pulling his body closer to hers. Puck wrapped his arms around her body, lifting her up off the log and into his arms. Rachel didn't hesitate, wrapping her short legs around his waist, her arms snaking around his neck. Puck's hands trailed down her bare back, sliding under her skirt and clutched her ass, his fingers digging into her smooth skin.

"Oh!" Rachel gasped, her body thrusting forward a bit. She looked down at him, her brown eyes meeting his. A moment later, her lips were pressed against his as he carried her into the jungle.

Puck laughed against her lips a moment later, causing Rachel to pull away. "You know, laughing kind of ruins the mood," she protested, pouting a bit.

"Sorry, baby," Puck apologized, kissing her lips as he continued walking with her in her arms. "I just started to feel like Tarzan, carrying my woman off into the jungle. Me Puck. Me want sex," he joked in a Tarzan-like voice.

Rachel rolled her eyes at him but couldn't help laughing. "You can't be Tarzan until you learn how to talk to gorillas," she reminded him. "Though I'll settle for you acting like a jungle man and ravaging me against the nearest tree," she whispered in his ear, reaching behind her back and loosening the tie that held her leaf top on her body. Rachel tossed it to the ground, her chest entirely exposed at this point.

Puck smiled down at her, starting to kiss her chest, his lips fastening around one of her perky nipples, setting her down on the ground and pressed her back into the tree. Puck swirled his tongue around her nipple, pulling more of her small breast into his mouth.

"Unf, oh, Noah," Rachel moaned, feeling herself getting wet in between her legs, starting to spread them slightly, ready to feel him inside of her. She reached down to the front of his shorts, feeling the growing bulge there. She pulled them open, pulling him out, running her hands up and down his length.

Puck, too busy with her breasts, was caught by surprise when he felt her handling him. "Fuck baby," he groaned, pushing her more against the tree.

"Noah, quit fucking around. I want you inside of me. _Right now_," she hissed as he reached a hand underneath her skirt again, yanking at the cotton fabric of her panties, pulling them off.

"As you wish," he murmured, reaching into his pocket and pulling the condom out as Rachel pushed his shorts down with one hand, still stroking him with her other hand. Something about the way her hand moved over his cock made him even more turned on. Even though he'd fucked her almost everywhere on the whole island, Rachel was still so innocent in his eyes. Sexy as fuck, but innocent. And to see her handling him expertly like she was, he had to keep his mind on something unsexy just to prevent himself from climaxing into her hand.

"Here, let me," Rachel whispered, taking the open condom package from his hand, rolling the latex condom onto his cock, kissing him on the lips as she did so. Puck's left hand slid down her stomach before moving to her upper thigh, moving in between her legs, stroking her slit, feeling how wet she was.

"Shit baby, you're so fucking wet," he groaned into her ear. He lifted her up as she spread her legs for him, sliding her onto his erect member. Rachel let out a sharp gasp, taking all of him inside her at once. Rachel wrapped her legs around his waist tightly as Puck thrust into her, her back rubbing against the rough bark of the tree.

With one hand, Puck grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together and pinning her arm against the tree. With his other hand, he reached down, starting to play with her clit, causing her to squeal and squirm on top of him.

"Come on baby, say my name," he whispered into her ear, grunting with each thrust into her. She was just so fucking tight, but he loved it.

"Oh god, Noah. You're so fucking amazing. Harder, baby. Fuck me harder," she cried, her eyes shut tight as she thrust her body into his, her hips meeting his.

"Whatever you say," he groaned, speeding up his thrusts, his hips smacking against hers. He was just glad there was no one else here. They could be as loud as they wanted and no one could say a damn thing about it. "How's that, baby? Do you like that?" he moaned, moving his fingers over her clit faster, trying to bring her to her climax.

"Oh Noah, you're so fucking amazing. Don't stop, baby. Just don't stop!" she choked out breathlessly, her breathing becoming more erratic. Puck smirked, seeing sweat starting to pour down her face. He knew she was close.

"Come on, baby. Come for me," he hissed into her ear.

That seemed to be all she needed. Rachel's toes curled and she wrapped her legs tighter around him. "Oh fuck!" she screamed. "Fuck, Noah! Oh god, oh god!" she gasped, spasming around his cock as she rode her orgasm out.

Puck continued to thrust into her, feeling the pressure inside him build. With a few more hard thrusts, Puck felt himself explode inside her, shouting loudly as he buried his face into her neck.

Puck stopped his movements, breathing heavily as he stayed pressed against Rachel, her back still pressed against the tree.

"Oh god, Noah. That was…that was…" she gasped, not able to finish her sentence.

"I know, baby. That was amazing. _You're_ amazing," he whispered, kissing her forehead before pulling out of her, slipping the used condom off him, dropping it on the jungle floor.

Rachel smiled up at him, caressing his cheek as he brushed her hair, soaked with sweat, out of her face. "I love you," she said after a moment of silence. "I really do love you."

"I know, baby. I know," he reassured, his thumb running in circles on her hip. He reached down, grabbing her panties and handed them to her. "Let's head back to the beach," he suggested, pulling his shorts back on, buttoning them up. "We can sit on the beach for a while. Maybe I can teach you how to catch a fish," he teased.

Rachel gave him an annoyed look. "I agreed to eat the fish. That doesn't mean I want to see it die. Or be the one to cause its death," she said, reaching down and picking the leaf top she wore. She handed it to Puck, turning her back to him. "Can you put it on me?" she asked.

Puck grinned at her back, moving close to her, his hands resting on her shoulders as he started kissing her neck. "Must I?" he teased. "Because I happen to like how you look right now," he whispered into her ear.

"You're a pig. Put it on," she insisted, though her voice had an amused tone to it. "Maybe I'll let you take it off later tonight," she murmured.

Puck let out a laugh, placing the top back on her, tying it on. "Come on," he said once she was dressed, taking her small hand in his large one, pulling her with him.

Rachel walked through the jungle behind Puck, staying close to him the whole time. They may have been on the island for a few months now, but that didn't mean she felt safe in the jungle. They'd run into snakes a few times, and Rachel had no desire to repeat those encounters.

Once the two Lima natives were back on the beach, Rachel released Puck's hand, kissing his cheek quickly before taking a seat in the sand, staring out at the ocean. Every day, Rachel looked out at the water for over an hour. In the beginning, Puck thought she was insane. But he'd come to realize that was the one thing that kept Rachel's spirits up. If it kept her from going insane, he was okay with it.

Puck headed back into their hut, grabbing one of his fishing spears, heading back out onto the beach, walking into the water, the waves running over the tops of his feet.

"Baby, I'm going to catch us dinner!" he called over to her. Rachel glanced over, nodding her head once before returning her eyes to the water, scanning for any signs of life. Puck's words about her fathers not giving up rang in her head. If they really hadn't given up searching for her, then maybe, just maybe, she'd see a rescue boat out there.

Though that didn't appear to be today. The water was as still as ever, not even a dolphin breaking the blue surface of the water. Rachel could hear Puck grunting in the distance as he chucked the spear into the water, trying to impale a fish they could eat for dinner. She averted her eyes from him, not wanting to see him pull a dead and bleeding fish out of the water.

Rachel reached up, playing with a stray strand of hair, twirling it around her finger, her thoughts far from the island. What if they did get rescued? What would happen when they returned? They'd been out of school for so long, how would they be expected to go back to school every day after they'd spend months on a tropical island without a care in the world?

And then there was Finn—if he even believed she was still alive. She'd spent all her time in the arms of his best friend. She'd let him touch her and kiss her in areas no one had before. She _loved_ him. If she went home and Finn wanted her back, she didn't know what she would do.

She heard a shout come from Puck, assuming he'd caught dinner for them. She looked over at him, seeing him holding his spear in the air, a dead fish impaled on the point. She smiled, her head resting in her hands. She never thought it would happen, but she really was happy here. And with Noah Puckerman of all people.

"We're eating fish tonight, baby!" he laughed, dropping the spear in the sand and ran over to Rachel, plopping into the sand beside her.

Rachel smiled, kissing him. "Good job, Noah. And thank you," she added.

"For what?" he asked, looking at her with a confused expression on his face.

"For taking care of me. You've made sure I stayed safe this whole time. You made sure I ate enough and didn't faint. You just…you kept me sane." Rachel held onto his arm, resting her forehead on his bicep.

Puck smiled, wrapping his arm around her. "I'll always take care of you, Rachel. I promise. You can trust me. I'll never let anything happened to you."

Rachel looked up into his eyes, her brown ones meeting his green ones. She believed him. She _trusted_ him, something that she never thought would happen. But everything was different now. Noah was the only person in her life now.


	11. Chapter 9

"We should build a bigger hut," Puck commented one day, the two of them laying on the beach, Puck drawing circles on her stomach as he looked down at her.

"Why?" Rachel asked. "If we do that, it's like we've given up all hope of rescue. I thought you wanted me to keep believing we're going to get off this island."

"I know, I know. But when I built that, I thought we were only going to be here a few days. We've been here for 128 days. And that little hut is getting a bit cramped for us when we're trying to fuck," he teased.

Rachel rolled her eyes at him. "Of course that's what you think about. We do have other places to make love, you know," she pointed out. Rachel never called it fucking except when she was extremely turned on and moaning for Puck to fuck her. The rest of the time, she called it making love, which Puck thought was adorable.

"I'm being serious. Who knows how much longer we're going to be here. I can start building a new one today," he said, kissing the side of her neck.

Rachel squirmed a little underneath him. Noah knew that her neck was the one spot he had to kiss to get her turned on. "Noah, stop. We're trying to have a conversation. We're not making love right now," she stated, giving him a look, though her eyes were saying differently.

"Oh?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I don't think you really mean that," he growled playfully, nipping at her collarbone.

"I'm being serious, Noah," Rachel complained. "Why do you want to build a new shelter? The one we have is working fine for us."

Puck sighed, leaning his forehead on her chest. "Because I'm not so sure we're ever going to get rescued," he admitted. He'd been telling Rachel to not give up, but he'd given up himself. If they hadn't found them by now, they were never going to find them.

Rachel sat up, pulling Puck up with her, her hands resting on his shoulders. "What's with the negative attitude? You've been telling me to not give up hope the whole time, and now you're the one who's given up hope?" she questioned.

Puck shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it just hit me today. We've been here such a long time and we haven't even seen a passing plane. Face it, Rach. We're stuck here forever with just each other for company," he muttered bitterly.

Rachel looked at him, a hurt expression on her face. "Am I not enough for you?" she asked, her lower lip quivering.

Fuck, he'd hurt her feelings. Puck let out a sigh. "Baby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I'm glad it's you I'm stuck here with. Imagine if I was here with Santana," he chuckled. "At least you help with stuff here. She'd just sit on her ass all day and order me around."

Rachel laughed again. "You know, you really shouldn't bring up another girl when you're trying to make your girlfriend feel better. But, in this case, it worked," she said, kissing him lightly. "I love you."

"I know you do, baby," Puck grinned, kissing her forehead. Rachel's smiled faltered a little. He'd only told her he loved her twice. After that, he would just say 'I know' when she told him he loved her. She knew he loved her, but a girl needed to hear the words said sometimes.

But Rachel didn't want to nag him about something like that. So instead, she kept quiet, just enjoying being on the beach with him. There was no place she would rather be.

Well, except home. She would love to be home right now. Though she knew that was impossible. She was on this island, thousands of miles from Lima (or so she assumed). So she'd settle for the second best place, which was right here, on this beach, in Noah Puckerman's arms.

"Tell me what you're thinking," Puck whispered into her ear, lying her on her back in the sand while he laid on his stomach next to her, his arms draped over body.

Rachel looked up at him, a sad smile on her face. "I was just thinking about home. And my dads. I miss them," she sighed.

Puck nodded, understanding what she meant. "I know what you mean. I miss my mom and my sister," he admitted. Puck wasn't one to talk about his feelings, but he'd never been away from his family for so long.

Rachel smiled, her fingers running her fingers over his back. "At least we have each other. Imagine if we were alone without each other."

Puck let out a groan. "That would be awful. Granted, at first I would have preferred that to being stuck here with you, but now I'm glad you were the one with me on the plane."

Rachel kissed the tip of his nose. "I'm glad you were with me, too. When I first found out you were my seat partner, I was so mad. I wanted to spend the plane ride with Finn. But he wouldn't have taken care of me as good as you have. And he wouldn't have played the guitar every night like you do," she laughed.

"Well, Hudson's not as talented as me," Puck bragged. "Imagine, you would have been stuck here with your loser boyfriend instead of a guitar-playing badass," he laughed.

Rachel shook her head at him. "You're ridiculous," she teased.

"And you're beautiful," he replied instantly.

Rachel smiled at him. "You really think I'm beautiful?" she asked.

"Of course I do, Rachel. You're the most beautiful girl in the world."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You're just saying that so I'll let you get into my pants again," she said.

Puck shook his head. "No, I—come on," he said, standing up, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet. "Come with me."

"Noah, what's gotten into you? Where are you taking me?"

"For a special performance from your boyfriend," he laughed, leading her over to their fire pit, pushing her to sit on the one log. He disappeared for a moment before re-emerging with the guitar, sitting beside her. "I get the feeling that you don't know what you mean to me."

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you never say you love me," she admitted. "You just say 'I know' every time I tell you I love you," she whispered.

Puck's face fell. He was a fucking moron. He'd told her once—he thought that was enough. He forgot girls needed that kind of reassurance.

Puck looked at Rachel nervously. Sure, he'd sung to her before, but this was different. He'd never sung her a love song. Taking a deep breath, Puck started to strum the guitar before singing Elton John's _Your Song_. **(If you've never heard it, youtube it or the version from **_**Moulin Rouge**_**).**

Rachel smiled as Puck sang, recognizing the song. Of _course_ she knew the song. She adored Moulin Rouge—and Elton John, too. The fact that he was sitting here singing this to her was enough to make her jump him right on the spot, but she controlled her hormones, sitting there and listened to him sing.

Once Puck was finished with the song, he placed the guitar on the ground, turning towards her and cupped her cheek in his hand. "Don't you see, Rachel? You mean the world to me."

Rachel smiled up at him, placing her hands on either side of his face. "And you mean the world to me. You also know just what to say to me to make me weak in the knees," she murmured, moving onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Weak in the knees, huh?" he teased. "Does that mean you're going to let me fuck you on the beach right now?" he said, arching his eyebrows at her.

Rachel shook her head. "No, but I'll let you make love to me in the water if you'd like," she whispered, sucking on his earlobe.

Puck grinned, picking her up and carried her down to the edge of the ocean, walking in without even taking off his clothes.

Rachel giggled, kissing down his neck as he moved further into the water until he was submerged up to his chest.

"Deep enough?" he asked, his hands already under her skirt, his fingers making their way under her panties, already starting to finger her.

Rachel squirmed, letting out small gasps as he stroked her slowly. "Yes, this is fine," she managed, her voice soft, but somehow sexy at the same time.

"Good. I can't have my lady unhappy," he whispered, his lips moving to her neck, him facing the beach while she looked out at the huge, empty ocean.

Puck began sucking on her throat, her soft, pale skin feeling lovely under his rough, cracked lips. He had no idea how Rachel had managed to stay so pale when they were on a fucking tropical island, but the girl managed to do it. Not that he was complaining. She looked sexy as fuck with her porcelain skin.

"Noah," Rachel moaned, her feet sliding over his ass underwater.

"I know, baby. Feels good," he groaned, feeling himself go hard. He reached down into his pocket to pull out a condom, feeling nothing but water there. "Fuck," he cursed.

Rachel looked at him with an inquisitive stare. "What is it?" she asked breathlessly. His fingers had stopped moving, and she needed to know why he had suddenly stopped pleasuring her.

"No condom. We can't be out of them," he muttered to himself, thinking back to the guitar case. He swore there were a few more in there.

"So we can't make love?" she pouted, a frown forming on her face. He'd gotten her all hot and bothered, and now he was saying he wasn't going to fuck her brains out like he normally did?

"Sorry baby. I guess we used all the condoms."

Rachel let out an exasperated sigh, clearly displeased with the recent turn of events. What if they never got rescued? Did that mean she was going to have to go forever without ever having sex again?

Puck frowned a little. "I know you're pissed, but I'm not risking knocking you up. And knowing my luck, I would. The last time I slept with someone without a condom, I got her pregnant," he said, referring to Quinn. "I don't want to risk that with you," he said, sighing and placing her down in the water. Since Rachel was so much shorter than him, the water was all the way up to her collarbones. "We'll figure something out, baby," he promised before seeing a grin break onto Rachel's face.

Rachel gasped as she stared out at the water, her heart beating rapidly. Tears were streaking down her face and she was screaming, waving her arms at something.

"Baby, what are you doing?" Puck asked, turning around before freezing.

There was a boat.

Rachel couldn't believe it. There was a boat in the distance. It was a relatively large boat from what she could tell, and it was going away from them.

"Noah, it's a boat!" she cried, tugging at his shirt. "Noah, we have to get them to see us!"

"I know, baby," he said, swimming back to shore.

"Where are you going?" she shouted, getting no answer from him. Once he was back on the beach, he sprinted to their hut, grabbing something from it before running back into the water, swimming to Rachel.

"Here," he said breathlessly, handing her the life vest from the plane. "We're going to swim out there."

Rachel looked at him like he was insane. "Noah, that's so far. I won't have enough energy to make it there."

"I know. But you don't have to. We just need to make it far enough for them to see us," he said, taking her hand, holding onto the seat cushion floatation device, staring to swim.

Puck swam slowly, always keeping a hand on Rachel. He didn't want her to fall behind. They two of them swan for half an hour, their eyes set on the boat. It didn't seem to be moving, which hopefully meant it was anchored there for a bit.

After another ten minutes, Puck and Rachel were gasping for air. "Let's just float towards the boat," Rachel breathed, taking deep breaths. "I can't swim anymore."

Puck nodded his head, one arm wrapped around her waist as they drifted. The boat seemed to be getting closer and closer. Puck just prayed they didn't drive off before they could reach the boat.

He leaned his head back in the water, exhaustion overtaking him. They'd swam so far, he could barely move. Even when he heard the shouts, he didn't move.

There was a splash as someone jumped off the boat and into the water. A pair of rough hands fastened themselves onto his arm, dragging him towards the boat. He looked over at their owner, a dark-skinned man who was speaking in an unfamiliar language.

A ladder was lowered from the boat and the man grabbed onto it, having Rachel climb up before pointing to Puck. He heaved himself out of the water, climbing up slowly, the man following behind him. Once he reached the deck of the boat, he was met with five more men, all of them staring at him and Rachel. He supposed they were a sight to see. His shirt was torn, wet, and dirty while Rachel was wearing clothes made out of leaves.

"Ki moun ou ye?" one of the men asked, looking at Puck.

Puck looked over at Rachel. "What did he say?" he asked.

"I don't know, Noah," she sighed, leaning against him. "I only speak English."

The men looked at the pair of kids, talking to one another in the strange language. "Jean Paul!" one of them called. "Vin tradui pou nou!" he shouted.

Another man walked down from the upper deck, taking in the sight of two pale teenagers who looked as though they hadn't eaten in weeks. He looked at one of his friends, saying something to them, watching them walk off before turning to Puck and Rachel. "I am sorry," he said with a slight French accent. "My name is Jean Paul. I am the owner of this boat. Who are you?"

Puck thought he was going to pass out, but he forced himself to look at the man who called himself Jean Paul and answered his question. "My name's Noah Puckerman. This is Rachel Berry. Our plan crashed in the ocean 128 days ago. We were the only survivors, and we've been living on that island this whole time."

"Your plane. Where was it going?" Jean Paul asked.

"New Zealand," Puck answered, Rachel nodding her head slowly.

One of the other men spoke in a frenzied voice, pointing at Rachel. Jean Paul looked at him, nodding his head. "The girl," he said. "She has two fathers, yes?"

Puck nodded his dead, wondering how he knew that.

"My friend has seen the story about her. The girl's fathers have been on the news all over the world about her, saying she disappeared on a school trip after her plane crashed."

"My dads?" Rachel asked, joining into the conversation. "They're still looking for me?"

"Why yes," Jean Paul answered. "Mr. and Mr. Berry from Lima, Ohio in the United States of America."

Rachel let out a shriek, running forward and hugging Jean Paul, catching him by surprise. The man Jean Paul had sent away returned, carrying a thick stack of blankets with him. He wrapped one around Rachel and one around Puck.

"You and Miss Rachel will stay with us. We will bring you to Seychelles, where we will call the authorities. You two will be going home," he stated.

Rachel smiled, hugging Puck and kissing him on the lips. "Did you hear that, Puck? We're going home," she cried.

Puck didn't say anything. He just hugged Rachel tightly, too happy to say anything.


	12. Chapter 10

Three days.

That's how long Rachel and Puck were on the boat with the men from Seychelles. Rachel found out from Jean Paul that they were speaking Creole, and that he was the only one who spoke English.

According to Jean Paul, they were on their annual fishing trip, a trip that typically lasted three weeks. They'd been out for about a week when Rachel and Puck spotted their boat and made their escape from the place that was their home for four months.

In Rachel's opinion, the men on the boat were perfect gentlemen, even though she couldn't understand a word they said. Jean Paul had given them his cabin to sleep in, a cabin which had an actual bed. He'd lent Puck some of his clothing to wear while his wife, Angelique, gave Rachel a few things to wear. She was much taller than Rachel was, but Rachel was grateful nonetheless. It was a nice break from wearing leaves.

The first day, Puck and Rachel spent the entire day in bed, just sleeping in each other's arms. Rachel woke up a few times to find Puck's strong arms wrapped around her petite frame, him fast asleep. She would smile, snuggle closer to him, and then fall back asleep.

That night, they joined everyone for a fresh cooked dinner made by Angelique. Jean Paul joked, first in Creole, then in English, that that was the only reason he brought her with them, earning himself a playful hit on the shoulder by his wife.

Rachel never left Puck's side, sitting very close to him as Angelique served them grilled fish stuffed with chilies, roasted vegetables, and a small bowl of fish soup. It was the best meal either of them had eaten in a long time.

Once they'd had a second helping and felt like their stomach was about to explode, they excused themselves from the table, choosing to return to the bed instead, Puck locking the door to the cabin once they were inside.

Rachel lay down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. She just smiled, not saying a word. It was still hard to believe that they were going home. Rachel knew it wasn't going to be the same as when they left, but it was home.

Puck climbed into bed with her, his arms wrapping around her body. "Tell me what you're thinking," he murmured quietly, kissing her neck softly.

Rachel's face heated up as she turned her face towards him. "Home," she answered. "We're really going home," she whispered, a hand reaching over to stroke his cheek.

"I know," Puck grinned before burying his face in her neck. "We get to see our families again. And go back to our lives," he added, his voice low.

"What does that mean for us?" she asked, her eyes searching him.

Puck looked up at Rachel, chewing on his lower lip as he thought. What did that mean for them? IF they came back and told everyone they were together, they'd all make assumptions that they'd spent the last four months fucking. Which, they had, but it wasn't as though Puck wanted everyone knowing that. "It doesn't mean anything. You mean a lot to me, Rachel. And us going back to Lima isn't going to change that. Hell, if you want me to, I'll stand in the middle of town and yell out at the top of my lungs how much I adore you."

Rachel's cheeks darkened. "Please don't do that," she laughed, kissing his forehead. "I already have a feeling that there's going to be reporters when we get back to the states. Let's just not answer questions about that," she suggested. "There's a time and place for that. We don't need to tell that story right away," she said.

Puck nodded his head. "Right, so any questions about falling in love or hooking up, we plead the fifth," he muttered, lying on top of her small body, starting to kiss down her neck. Rachel squirmed underneath him, her arms working their way around his neck.

Puck took one hand, sliding it under the too-big dress Rachel had on. She continued fidgeting underneath him, pulling his lips away from their assault on her neck and brought them to her lips instead.

Rachel kissed him once, sighing as she did so. Right here was where she wanted to be right now. Right here with Puck while he touched her like he was touching her right now.

"Feels weird doing this on an actual bed," she whispered to him, her fingers dancing up and down the back of his neck.

Puck let out a laugh. What she said was true in a funny sort of way. They'd fucked all over that island, but not once had they ever done it in a bed. Not that he was complaining—nailing her up against a tree had been pretty hot.

"Are you going to let me fuck you without a condom or am I going to just have to use my fingers and tongue instead?" he taunted her, his fingers running under the wire of her bra, causing her to shiver violently.

Rachel's face went bright red. "You're so vulgar," she complained, pulling at the buttons of his borrowed shirt. "But no sex. With your track record, you'd get me pregnant, even if you pulled out," she added.

Puck nodded his head, pulling the dress up so her stomach was exposed. He began kissing down her flat belly, his fingers already pulling her panties down to her ankles. "And you have to be quiet," he mumbled against her skin. "Other people can actually hear us this time," he teased, placing a kiss on her inner thigh.

Rachel let out a soft moan, her legs spreading for him. Puck let his fingers walk up and down her muscular thighs, teasing her. He would place a kiss on her thigh and let his fingers graze over her, but nothing more than that.

Rachel whined with anticipation. "Baby, please," she groaned, not liking this game he was playing with her.

Puck smirked, listening to her beg for a few more moments before obliging her.

Oh.

_Oh._

Rachel's hips jutted off the bed as she felt his tongue inside her, her hands grabbing the sheet she was laying on, gripping it tightly in an effort not to scream out in pleasure.

Puck forced his tongue deeper inside her, his fingers playing with her, causing waves of pleasure to course through Rachel's body. Her moaning urged him on, his fingers moving faster. Puck could hear her breathing becoming labored and uneven, his tongue flicking in and out of her.

Rachel was whimpering as Puck continued, her hips thrusting up off the bed. "Oh god, baby. Fuck, mmm," she moaned, grabbing her own chest and fingering her nipples.

Puck looked up at her, mesmerized. He'd never seen Rachel like this, and he'd seen her do a lot of crazy shit over the past four months. Who would have guessed under her skirt and sweater there was a freak in bed? Puck removed his tongue from her, inserting two fingers a second later, causing Rachel to let out a sharp gasp. He began pumping his fingers in and out of her, his other hand grabbing her left breast, swatting her hand away.

Puck shifted a little, the bulge in his pants growing. He wasn't going to be able to work out the tension, either. Fucking condoms.

Rachel's hands clenched into fists as he felt her tightening around his fingers, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. She was thrashing on the bed, her hips thrusting up and down as she orgasmed. When she came down from her climax, Puck pulled his fingers out of her. Rachel looked up at him, breathing heavily.

She sat up a moment later, looking at him. "Lie back," she ordered, her voice low and commanding.

Puck blinked, looking at her. "Why?" he asked, not sure what she was getting at. He shifted again, the erection in his pants pressing against his thigh.

"Please Noah?" she asked, pulling her panties back up and letting the dress drop down over her body. Puck nodded his head, lying back against the headboard, watching her, curious about what she wanted. "Remember, you have to be quiet," she teased, crawling over to him. She let her hands trail down his stomach before stopping at the zipper on his pants.

Rachel kissed his lips once, yanking the zipper down before pulling him out.

"Baby, you don't have to do this," Puck said, watching her kiss down his chest.

"Noah? Shut up," Rachel laughed, her hands running up and down his length. "I'm not doing anything because I have to. I'm doing it because I want to," she promised before she took his entire length in her mouth.

Puck let out a groan, feeling her hot breath surrounding his cock, her tongue flicking back and forth over his tip. He had no idea how she had learned to do this so well, but, _fuck_, she was amazing at it.

"Fuck baby," he groaned quietly, not wanting the entire boat to wake up and hear him getting a blowjob from Rachel Berry. That would just lead to awkward looks the next morning.

Rachel tried to smile, but it was a bit hard with her lips wrapped tightly around his dick. Puck ran his fingers through her hair as her head bobbed up and down, her hands massaging his inner thighs.

Puck closed his eyes, groaning again. Her lips just felt so good on him, her hot breath swirling around his shaft.

Puck felt the pressure building inside of him. He was trying to stop himself from thrusting his hips, but when his climax came, he couldn't help it. He shoved more of himself into Rachel's mouth and came in her mouth, causing her to gag.

"Oh, baby, I'm sorry," he apologized, biting his lip.

Rachel pulled her head up, brushing her dark hair out of her face, swallowing. "It's okay. I don't care," she said, smiling at him.

Puck looked at her with disbelief, wondering how he got so lucky. "Baby, you're amazing," he whispered, pulling her close, his arms wrapping around her. Puck gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, the two of them snuggling on top of the covers, trying to fall asleep.

xxxxx

Michael Harris looked over at his co-pilot, biting his lip nervously. He'd been a pilot for six years and he'd never had a problem. But today was a little different. Instead of flying a 747, he was flying a small private plane.

And he was flying two teenagers who were the only survivors of a deadly plane crash. He needed all the luck he could get to make sure the same thing didn't happen to this plane as well.

"We'll be landing in half an hour," his co-pilot said into a phone, speaking to the third passenger on the plane. She was seated in the body of the plane where the two kids were.

Jessica Milton picked up the phone, nodding her head as she spoke to the co-pilot before hanging the phone back up on the wall. She walked over to the front seats, where the two survivors were sitting, the girl fast asleep with her head on the boy's shoulder, his arm around her.

"We'll be landing soon," she said quietly. The boy looked up at her, nodding his head. "We'll be landing at Columbus International Airport. Your families are going to be there waiting for you when you land. The press is also going to be there—you two are the biggest news in the country now," she said.

Puck nodded again. "That's fine," he said softly rubbing Rachel's shoulder. "I'll tell her," he promised as Jessica walked away, taking her seat again.

Puck kissed Rachel's forehead, shaking her shoulder a little. "Baby, wake up," he murmured in her ear.

Rachel stirred, her eyes blinking open as she looked up at Puck. "Noah?" she asked sleepily. "What's going on?"

Puck smiled at Rachel, hugging her tightly. She looked so adorable when she woke up after a nap. Her hair had fallen into her face and her eyes were still slightly closed.

"We're going to be landing soon," he whispered, his fingers running up and down her spine comfortingly.

"We are?" she asked, clinging tightly to Puck as the plane dropped a little. "Noah, what's happening?" she asked nervously. Rachel hadn't been a big fan of getting on this plane. After all, the last one she had been on crashed right into the ocean.

"Calm down, baby. We're just landing," he promised, reaching up and stroking her cheek. "We're going to land and your dads are going to be there waiting for you." The plane dropped a little more and Rachel clung to Puck tightly.

They stayed like that as the plane descended, coming to a stop at one of the gates. Puck helped Rachel to her feet, holding her hand in his.

"Ready?" he asked. Rachel nodded her head. "Let's go, then," he said, pulling her with him. The two of them exited the plane, walking through the hall that led to the main area of the airport. Rachel released Puck's hand before she walked out, seeing her two fathers standing there, watching her.

Rachel smiled, running over to them as the cameras flashed. She threw her arms around her one father's neck as her other dad came around the other side, wrapping his arms around her. All three Berry's were crying, so glad to finally see each other again.

"Daddy!" Rachel sobbed, clinging to both her dads desperately, never wanting to let them go. It had been so long since she'd seen them, let alone hug them. "Daddy, I missed you both so much," she cried, her voice muffled against her one father's shoulder.

Puck watched from the distance, seeing Rachel and her fathers locked in a tight embrace. He scanned the crowd of reporters before spotting his mother and sister, both of them running towards him.

"Ma!" he shouted, sprinting towards her. "Daphne!" Puck lifted his sister in the air, hugging her tightly. Daphne was sobbing in her brother's arms while his mother threw her arms around her son.

"Noah!" she sobbed. "Noah, I can't believe it's you. I can't believe you're alive," she choked out in between sobs. Daphne didn't say anything, clinging to her brother tightly.

There were shouts and Rachel looked up, seeing the entire McKinley High glee club standing off to the side. Taking her fathers' hands and pulling them with her, Rachel walked over tot eh only friends she had ever known, smiling at them through her tears.

Puck walked over and joined Rachel, his sister in his arms and his mother at his side.

"You're alive!" Kurt exclaimed, throwing his arms around Rachel. She smiled, hugging him back. "I never gave up hope," he promised. He was the only one who hadn't, but he wasn't about to say that in front of everyone else. "I always thought you were still alive, Rachel," he whispered in her ear.

Rachel smiled, her head resting on Kurt's shoulder as she saw the flashing of the cameras. She knew her picture was going to be in every paper tomorrow, but she didn't care. Even though she had on, a dress that was too big for her and tears running down her face, she didn't care.

Puck gave Finn a hug, not bothering to let him know that he'd spend the past four months fucking his girlfriend in every position and every area of the island they'd been living on. He figured that wouldn't be the best thing to tell him after having him think he was dead.

After an hour of being hugged and kissed by every member of New Directions—including Mr. Schuester—Jessica came over to Puck and Rachel, pointing to a room and saying they had set up a press conference.

Puck nodded his head, placing his hand on the small of Rachel's back and led her into the room, everyone following them. Kurt watched the two of them suspiciously, seeing how low Puck's hand was. Did something happen on the island between the two of them?

Rachel and Puck walked up to the table on the stage in the front of the room, taking a seat. Puck took Rachel's hand under the table, giving it a squeeze and smiling at her as everyone walked in, taking a seat in the mass of chairs in the room.

"Are you okay?" he asked, reaching over and wiping a tear off her cheek.

Rachel nodded her head. "I am. Is my makeup smudged?" she asked, causing Puck to laugh. He nodded his head, leaning in and giving her a hug. "I love you, Noah," she whispered in his ear as Jessica came over, placing microphones in front of the two of them.

Rachel and Puck sat back in their chairs as Jessica introduced them, talking about the crash. She was a representative for the airline, and Rachel guessed this whole press conference was damage control. After all, they had fucked up. She and Puck weren't even supposed to be on that fucking plane. She had already spoken to them about a large settlement to prevent them from suing the airline. It was more money than she could ever hope to have, but Puck and her decided to talk it over with their parents before saying yes.

"We'll now have Miss Berry and Mr. Puckerman answer some questions," Jessica said, stepping back. Reporters were shouting out questions and cameras flashed. Rachel shied back as Puck pointed to a reporter.

The man stood up, a tape recorder in his hand. "Miss Berry!" he called, his eyes locked on Rachel. "What was the crash like?"

Rachel bit her lip. "I think it would be better to have Noah answer that. I hit my head before the plane crashed and blacked out. I don't really remember much," she admitted.

Puck gave her a look. "I hate you," he joked, earning laughs from the reporters. "It was chaos," he said, trying to remember what happened, even though all he wanted to do was block out that day from his memory. "I had been sleeping when Rachel woke me up. The plane was shaking and all the luggage had fallen into the aisles. At one point, Rachel hit her head on something and blacked out. I covered her with my body on the ground when the plane hit the ocean. It was filling up with water so quickly; I didn't know what to do. I remember grabbing the seat cushion and a life vest, carrying her through the plane. The people in the emergency exit row were dead. I pushed the window open and swam out with Rachel. Then we floated away from the wreck and ended up on some island hours later."

Everyone seemed to be nodding their heads, their friends and family looking up at them with tears in their eyes.

Another reporter stood up. "What was it like living on an island?"

"It was hard," Rachel said honestly. "We had to do everything on our own. I mean, we're two teenagers from Ohio. We've never been on our own before. Noah built our shelter and I made mats for us to sleep on. We ended up finding fresh water and built a fire on the beach. Noah was an amazing fisherman," she joked, looking up at him with a smile.

"Mr. Puckerman, what's your relationship to Miss Berry?" someone asked.

"We're friends. I mean, we weren't really close before this all happened, but spending 128 days with someone means you get to know them really well," he said, lacing their fingers together under the table.

Rachel nodded her head in agreement. "Noah saved my life," she admitted. "He got me off that plane and then took care of me while we were on the island. He made sure I had enough to eat and didn't get hurt. I would have died without him," she murmured.

Puck's mother smiled up at her son proudly. She never would have expected him to act like a mature person, but according to this girl, he was her hero.

"What's the thing you're looking forward to most now that you're home?" someone asked.

Rachel smiled. "I'm just ready to spend time with my fathers. I've missed them so much," she said, looking over at her dads. They grinned up at her daughter. "That and getting back to singing every day in my high school's glee club," she added, causing the entire New Directions to cheer.

"I'm just looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. Sleeping on a mat on a beach isn't exactly the most comfortable," he laughed.

Rachel and Puck answered questions for a bit longer before Jessica dispersed everyone. Rachel let go of Puck's hand, standing up and walking over to her fathers, Puck following behind and joining his mother and sister.

"Come on, baby doll. Let's take you home," the one Mr. Berry said to Rachel.

Rachel nodded her head. "Hold on a minute, Daddy," she said, running over quickly to where Puck was standing with his sister. His mother had gone out to go get the car, telling him to meet her in the front of the airport in ten minutes.

"What's up, baby?" he asked quietly, no one else around to hear them.

"Call me when you get home," she whispered, gripping his arm and squeezed it gently. "I love you."

"I know, baby," he said, reaching over to rub her back. "I'll call your house when I get home," he murmured before watching her walk away. He glanced over at Finn, seeing his eyes following Rachel. He couldn't help the jealously that surged through him. He wanted to kick Finn's ass for looking at his girl that way.

Then he remembered, no one knew she was his girl. Not yet, at least. Puck picked Daphne up, watching the Berry family walk out of the room, Rachel holding both her fathers' hands like she was five years old again. He watched everyone from New Directions leave next before he finally walked out, ready to finally go home.

**AN: Gah, thank you so much for all the reviews and everything. I'm sorry I disappeared forever, but school kicked my ass this year. I'm done now, though, so I'm back to writing. And just because they're off the island doesn't mean this story is over :D**


	13. Chapter 11

**AN: Okay, I know I fucked up Rachel's dads' names in the first chapter, but I'm switching them to the right names here.**

**Also, to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story over the past few days, thank you so much. I didn't realize everyone liked this story so much. It was just a silly idea I had one day **

Rachel walked into her house at 7:13 in the evening. At 8:02, the house phone rang. Rachel's dad went to answer it, but she sprinted into the kitchen, grabbing it before her father could.

"Hello?" she asked, placing the phone next to her ear.

"Baby," Puck breathed. Rachel could see him smiling on his end, wishing he was there with her.

"Hi," she said with a huge smile on her face. The one Mr. Berry looked at his daughter, giving her a suspicious look. Rachel had barely been in the house and already she was on the phone with someone. "You're home?" she asked, walking out of the kitchen and heading up the stairs without a glance back at her father, giggling.

Hiram walked into the living room, taking a seat next to Leroy on the couch. "I'm worried about Rachel," he said while Leroy was watching CNN, their whole broadcast being about Rachel and Noah's return.

"Worried?" he asked. "Why are you worried? I think she's adjusting rather well. I mean, she's not walking around depressed. She'd on the phone with a friend. It's nice to see she's able to connect with her friends after being gone so long."

"I think it's that boy," Hiram muttered.

"Which boy?" Leroy asked.

"Finn. You know, the one she was dating before she disappeared."

"Oh would you relax? He's harmless."

"Yes, but he's a teenage boy! He—" But Leroy never got to hear exactly what being a teenage boy meant because at that moment, the doorbell rang. "Who's that?" he asked, rising to his feet.

"I don't know. Why don't you open the door and see instead of letting your imagination run wild?" Leroy laughed.

Hiram pulled the door open, seeing Finn Hudson standing there, a bouquet of flowers in his hand. "Oh, hi Mr. Berry," he greeted. "Is Rachel here?"

"Finn?" Leroy asked, coming over to the door. "I thought you were on the phone with Rachel?" he asked.

Finn looked at him confused. "No sir, I was out buying these for her. I didn't really get a chance to talk to her after she got back."

"She's up in her room. Why don't I bring you up there?" he suggested, heading up the stairs without waiting for an answer from his daughter's boyfriend.

Rachel was sprawled out on her bed, laughing as she talked with Puck. "It's weird being here without you. I miss you already," she murmured.

"I miss you too, baby. I want to see you right now. Actually, I want to see you in my bed right now, preferably without any clothes on," he teased.

"Ah, there's the old Noah. I thought he'd disappeared completely," she joked, wishing he was there with her.

Puck sighed a little. "I need to see you. I can't sleep without you here with me," he admitted.

"Come over here. Wait until my dads go to bed. I'll sneak you in and you can spend the night in my room," she promised.

Puck grinned. "That's a great idea. I'll be over at eleven," he said. "Rachel, I—"

"Shoot," Rachel interrupted. "That's my other line. I'll see you tonight," she promised before pressing the button, switching lines on the phone. "Hello?"

"Rachel?" came Kurt's familiar voice.

"Kurt?" Rachel asked. "Why are you calling?"

"I need to tell you something," he said quietly. "Finn's on his way over."

"Okay?" she asked, not sure what he was getting at.

"He wants to make sure you two are still together. He's going to tell you that he thought you were alive the whole time and never gave up hope. He's lying."

Rachel sighed, not wanting to listen to Kurt in rambling mode. "Kurt, I have no idea what you're talking about," she complained, lying back with her head on her pillow, staring up at the ceiling. It was weird looking at a light instead of the stars like she was used to.

"He was nailing Quinn two weeks after you were gone!" Kurt blurted out as there was a knock at the door.

Rachel froze. "Wh—what?" she stuttered.

"He didn't even grieve. As soon as you were gone, he and Quinn got back together and were hooking up every weekend. I would know—the walls in the house aren't that thin," he said as her father opened the door, Finn standing next to him. "Um, I have to go, Tina. I'll see you at school," she said.

"He's there?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah I missed you too. Bye," she said, hanging up the phone, looking over at Finn as her father left them alone, keeping the door open. She bit her lip, sitting up. "What are you doing here, Finn?" she asked, brushing her hair out of her face.

"I wanted to see you," he said, taking a seat beside her on her bed. "I missed you, Rachel," he said, reaching over to take her hand. Rachel pulled away from him, keeping her hands clenched in her lap. "What's wrong?" he asked, frowning.

"Is it true you got back together with Quinn two weeks after the plane crash?" she asked, looking right at him, daring him to lie.

Finn sighed, placing the flowers on the bed. "I thought you were dead, Rachel. You can't get mad at me for moving on."

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do," she muttered. "Besides, I can get mad when you were nailing her every night for Kurt to hear," she snapped. "Why did you come here if you have Quinn?"

"I…I love you, Rachel. I want you back. Please, babe," he said, leaning in to kiss her."

Rachel pushed him away, leaning back. "Finn, stop it. You just want to get back with me because you feel guilty for moving on so quickly. I don't care, Finn. It's been too long. We don't have anything in common anymore."

"We have glee club," he protested.

"Finn, just stop it. You don't know what I've been through; you don't understand what I'm feeling now."

"I would if you'd tell me," he pleaded. "Rachel, you can tell me. Please, I want to know."

Rachel shook her head. "No, Finn. I don't want to tell you. I don't want to be with you. I think you should leave," she said, looking away from him.

Finn sighed, looking at her. "I loved you, Rachel. I always did, no matter what happened with Quinn. And I'm sorry I fucked everything up." He stood up, picking the flowers up. "I'll see you around, Rachel," he said quietly, leaving a moment later.

Rachel watched him walk out, not feeling anything. She didn't feel heartbroken or upset. She lay back on her bed, unsure why she wasn't upset. Before the crash, all she wanted was Finn. But then Noah made her forget all about him, made her only think about him and how amazing he made her feel.

Rachel heard a light tapping coming from her window and looked up, gasping as she saw Noah outside, standing on the lattice and peering into her room.

"Noah!" she hissed, running over and pulling the window open, watching him stumble inside. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "My dads are downstairs. If they catch you…"

"They're not going to catch me," he promised, dusting his jacket off. Rachel looked him over. It was weird seeing him in actual clothes instead of torn up shorts and a tattered old tee shirt like she was used to seeing him in on the island. "Besides, I had to see you," he said, kissing her cheek softly.

Rachel smiled, her face heating up. "I told you I'd meet you outside tonight," she murmured as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I couldn't wait that long. I had to see you now," he whispered into her ear, his hands tracing up and down her back slowly.

Rachel let out a content sigh, resting her head against his chest, his strong arms enveloping her in a tight hug. She looked up at him for a moment before standing on her toes and pressing her lips to his.

Puck smiled against her lips, kissing her back for a moment before pulling away. "What was Finn doing here?" he asked.

Rachel looked at him with a confused expression. "You saw him?" she asked.

"No, I saw his car parked outside when I was climbing up to your window. Did he come to see you?" he asked.

Rachel nodded her head. "Yeah, he did. I don't even know why he came over here. He was going on about how he loved me and wanted to be with me, but K—someone told me he was banging Quinn two weeks after we disappeared. And when I asked him about it, he didn't even try to deny it." She shook her head. "How could I have ever been so stupid to think I was in love with him?" she asked.

Puck smiled a little, glad to know she wasn't even considering getting back together with him, though he had some choice words for Finn for putting the moves on his girl.

Wait.

Shit.

Finn didn't know she was his girl. No one did. Except possibly Kurt. After all, why else would Kurt have called him to tell him Finn was driving over to Rachel's house to try and win her back?

"Who told you about him and Quinn?" he asked curiously, taking her hand and pulled her over to her bed, patting his lap for her to sit.

Rachel took a seat on his lap, her arms wrapped around his neck. "A friend," she said vaguely.

"Kurt?" he asked.

Rachel smiled a little. "How did you know?" she asked with a laugh.

"Because he called me to tell me Finn was headed over here to put the moves on you. That's why I couldn't wait for your dads to go to bed," he said. "I broke every speed limit on the way here, but I was determined not to let anyone touch my girl except me," he teased which caused Rachel to blush again. "I love it when you blush, baby," Puck complimented, dragging a finger over her red cheek.

Rachel smiled, nuzzling her face into his neck. "My dads are making me go to the hospital tomorrow," she said after a moment. "They said I lost too much weight and I look sick so they want someone to look at me. They already said they're going to make me stay overnight," she protested.

Puck frowned. "Well I can't have my lady spending the night in the hospital all alone. I'll sneak in to see you," he promised.

Rachel laughed a little and shook her head. "No, what if someone comes by and they see you there with me?"

"They'll just think I'm a concerned friend. After all, we spent four months together. People probably think we're best friends now," he laughed.

"How wrong they are. Don't they know I hate you?" she teased.

Puck feigned a look of hurt. "Why baby, you're breaking my heart," he joked, clutching his chest dramatically.

Rachel laughed, tackling him onto her bed, sitting on top of his chest. "Shh, my dads, remember?" she whispered, kissing his cheek. "I don't want them coming up here to investigate what's going on," she giggled.

Puck nodded his head. "Excellent point," he muttered, his hands running up and down her sides. "Maybe when you're at the hospital you could ask them to put you on birth control too," he whispered, nibbling on her earlobe.

Rachel flushed at that. "Is that all you ever think about? Sex?" she asked, though her tone was amused.

"Of course not. All I ever think about is sex with _you_," he teased, rolling her onto her back, him hovering above her. Puck began kissing up her neck softly, Rachel lying very still and remaining very quiet. His hand began inching up her dress. Her calf, then her thigh. He was up to the elastic of her panties when—

"Rachel?" came a knock at her door.

Rachel sat straight up in bed. "Quick, go hide!" she hissed, pushing him off her bed. Puck looked around her room, pulling her closet door open, climbing in, and shutting it just before her father opened the door. "Hi dad," she said nervously, hoping he didn't pick up on it.

If he did, he must have attributed it to adjusting to normal life again. "Hi angel," he said, walking in and looking around her room. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, Daddy. Everything's fine," she said, desperate to get him out of her room before he found Puck in her closet.

"Everything okay with Finn? He didn't look to happy when he walked out of here," he said, taking a seat on his daughter's bed.

"Yes," she said quickly, earning a look from her father. "I mean, as okay as it can be. He wanted everything to go back to normal, and I just can't do that. Not with everything I've been through."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think you'd understand. Neither you nor Daddy would," she said. She bit her look at the crestfallen look on her father's face. "But as soon as I do, you'll be the first one I come to," she promised, kissing his cheek.

That seemed to be all Leroy Berry needed to hear. "Okay. Well, your father and I are going to bed. Get to bed. We'll bring you over to Lima General Hospital in the morning," he said, patting his daughter's back before leaving her room, shutting the door behind him.

As soon as her bedroom door closed, her closet door opened, Puck falling back onto her bed. "Do your dads make it a regular thing to check in on you?" he mumbled into her pillow.

"No, just when I've come back from an unscheduled four-month trip to a tropical island," she joked, sitting on the edge of her bed, rubbing his back lightly. "You're safe now. They won't come back until the morning, I promise," she said.

"This smells like you," he said into her pillow, not even bothering to look up.

Rachel laughed quietly. "Is that so? I haven't slept in it for four months and it still smells like me?" she teased, standing up and walking over to her dresser, pulling out her pajamas. "Are you spending the night or just staying here until I fall asleep?" she asked.

Puck turned his head towards her, watching as she undressed. He leaned back, enjoying the view. "I think I'll stay here unless you're opposed to it," he teased.

"Oh, I'm totally opposed to it," she teased. "I mean, it was one thing on the island, but staying in my room?" She shook her head. "No way, I draw the line there," she laughed, letting her nightgown fall over her body before climbing into bed with Puck.

He kicked off his shoes, pulling the covers down and over both of their bodies. "Hey Rachel?" he asked.

"Yes, Noah?"

"Do I have to ask you to be my girlfriend again now that we're off the island?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Good night, Noah," she said, kissing him once before turning out the light.

xxxxx

Rachel woke up the next morning to an empty bed, though her one pillow smelled like Noah did. She smiled, rolling over and burying her face in it, missing him already.

Her fathers were already up, making breakfast when she walked into the kitchen. They forced some food down her throat before all three Berry's got into the car. Hiram pulled the car out of the driveway and headed towards the hospital.

Rachel leaned back, tuning out her fathers' chatter as she looked out the window. She saw a school bus drive past and wondered when she was going to return to school. She'd missed finals from last year and a month from this year—was she even going to be a senior or would she have to repeat junior year?

"What do you think, Rachel?" she heard her father ask.

"What?" Rachel said, looking up.

"I said we should have a party. You know, a celebration that you're home. You can invite that Noah kid and his family too. What do you think?"

"Yeah, whatever," she mumbled, not really caring. "That sounds great."

They pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, Leroy getting out of the car and leading Rachel in while Hiram parked. After a ten minute wait, they were led to an examination room. Rachel's fathers waited outside while a doctor examined her, not saying much. He noted a few healing scratches on her back, Rachel blushing as he asked about them.

"They're from a tree," she said. That was the truth, after all. She just didn't feel like going into how she got them from the tree. The doctor seemed to take her explanation and finished his exam before inviting her fathers back in.

"Well, your daughter is very thin and very dehydrated. I want to admit her for a few days to give her some fluids and extra nutrition. We'll also do some cultures, see if she picked up anything from the island she was on," he said.

Leroy and Hiram nodded their heads, walking with Rachel up to the room she was going to be staying in.

Rachel changed into the hospital gown and laid in bed, not even flinching as the nurse inserted two separate IVs. She was hooked up to fluids and some kind of nutrition bag.

Her fathers stayed with her for a while before Rachel all but kicked them out, telling them they could come see her tomorrow. They nodded, kissing her forehead goodbye.

As soon as they were gone, Rachel picked up the phone and called Puck. It was just past dinnertime, so she hoped he was home.

"Hello?"

"Baby?" she asked.

Rachel could practical hear him smile on the other end. "Hey. Are you at the hospital?" he asked.

"Yeah, they're keeping me for a few days. I'm lonely," she pouted.

"On my way."

The line went dead as he hung up the phone. Rachel looked down at the tray of food in front of her, half of it eaten. She couldn't even finish it all. She was so used to having nothing to eat that her stomach couldn't take so much food at once.

Rachel flipped on the TV, seeing her picture. She frowned, listening as the host of the show was discussing her. She flipped to the next channel.

"…no one really knows what went on during those four months except—"

Change.

"…sources close to Miss Berry say she just broke up with her long term boyfriend after arriving back in Ohio—"

Jesus, how did they even know that?

"…are now working on a script for a movie based on the miraculous discovery of the two Lima teens—"

It wasn't just the local news channels talking about them. The whole country was obsessed with her, Puck, and their survival. Overnight she had gone from an unknown high school student to a survivor of a horrific plane crash.

"Baby?"

Rachel looked up, smiling as she saw Puck. "Hey," she breathed, turning the TV off. Puck walked into her room, taking a seat beside her. He took her hand, being careful not to touch the IV in it.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like I have needles in my arms," she joked, lacing their fingers together. "Did you go to school today?" she asked.

Puck shook his head. "No, Ms. Pillsbury called the house and said she wanted to meet with me next week or something. Did she call you?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "I've been here all day. She probably called my dads and told them," she said.

Puck nodded his head, sitting there with Rachel. They talked for a bit, they watched some TV, listening to the stories about them, he sat back and acted bored as the nurse gave Rachel her medication. At around 11, Rachel started getting sleepy. Puck crawled into the small hospital bed with her, kissing her lightly on the lips. "Good night, baby," he murmured, wrapping his arms around her. He didn't know why, but he knew he couldn't sleep without her.

Puck and Rachel fell asleep quickly. They were so exhausted from the day that they didn't even wake up when the photographer snuck in and snapped a picture of them sleeping together in the bed.


	14. Chapter 12

The next morning, Rachel awoke alone in the hospital bed when the nurse came in to check on her. "I'm sorry dear," she apologized. "I was just making sure you were okay," she whispered, walking out of the room after making sure her heart rate was stable.

Rachel looked around the room, frowning a little. Was this going to be their new routine, Noah sneaking in late and sneaking out early? It made her feel like a cheap whore.

She rolled over onto her side with a pout, hearing the crinkling sound of paper beneath her. Rachel set up, moving her pillow to see a folded sheet of paper with her name scrawled across the front.

She smiled, opening it up to find a hand written note from Noah.

_Rachel,  
Sorry for leaving (again) without saying goodbye, but I didn't want to be there in the morning in case your dads decided to come by early. And I didn't want to wake you either—you looked so peaceful, baby. I'm going to head home for the day and relax for a bit, maybe even go out later and spend some time with Finn and Sam. Call me later and we'll talk. I miss you already.  
Noah_

Rachel smiled a little at the note, her fingers tracing over his signature. He'd actually written her a note before he left. She placed the letter carefully on her bedside table, lying back down. Well, she was up, and with all the noise in the hospital, there was no way she was falling back asleep.

Rachel picked up the television remote, flipping it on. The first thing she came to was _The Today Show_. And, of course, they were talking about her and Noah. She had a feeling that was all anyone was going to be able to talk about for a while. Curious, she decided to watch and see what they were saying about her.

"…now this girl, Rachel, what do you think of her?" the one host asked the other.

"She seems like a real sweetheart. I mean, you've seen the videos. She's always smiling. She'd talented as hell, too," he added.

Talented? What were they talking about?

"Yeah," the other host agreed. "That girl has a set of pipes on her and she's only what? Seventeen?"

The other host nodded. "Seventeen, yes," he said. "I'm telling you, this girl is going to be famous one day. I mean, famous for something other than being one hell of a survivor."

"And that fame might be sooner than we think. Let's bring out our guest, Mr. Jesse St. James!"

Rachel's eyes went wide open. Jesse? Last she'd heard, he had dropped out of college to film some pilot with a friend of his from LA.

But there he was, right on her TV. He had the same curly hair, the same good looks, and the same condescending smirk as she remembered.

The female host embraced him, giving him a kiss on each cheek. "Jesse!" she laughed. "So good to see you, again."

"It's good to see you too, Meredith," he said, leaning back in the chair. The crowd of fans in New York City could be seen in the background, causing Rachel to instantly feel jealous. There he was, living her dream while she was stuck in a hospital bed.

"So, tell me about the show," the cohost asked, leaning in closer.

"Well, it's about a teenage guy, played by me, who's sent to jail for a crime he didn't commit. So he's trying to prove to everyone that he doesn't belong there, though everyone's telling him that's what everyone says. So soon, he starts thinking that maybe he really does belong there. It's an interesting role to play."

"Tell us how you got involved in this show."

"The creator is actually a friend of mine from college. We were in a bunch of classes together and one day, he comes up to me. He says, 'Jesse, I have this great idea for a show and I want you to star in it.' He was asking me to take a leap of faith, to drop out of school and do this show. And I did. Luckily, it's paid off," Jesse laughed.

"What about this new project you're working on?"

"Well, it's just in the development stages, but I think it's going to be great. I'm helping write it, actually, though TJ, the other writer, wants me to star in it as well."

"What's it about?"

"That plane crash and what happened after it crashed."

That caught Rachel's attention. Jesse was writing a movie about…her?

"No one really knows what happened," the one host said. "Those two kids didn't give us any information in that little press conference held by the airline."

"No, but I know Rachel Berry. She's my ex-girlfriend and I took her to her junior prom. I'm hoping maybe she'll tell me. Besides, we want her to play herself in it."

Rachel had to cover her mouth to keep herself from screaming. A movie! They wanted her to be in a movie! This was it. She'd play herself in this movie and then…Broadway.

"What about the other kid, Noah? Are you going to get him to play himself as well?"

"We don't think so. He's not much of an actor, trust me," Jesse laughed, causing everyone else to laugh. They finished up the interview and Jesse left, but Rachel kept the TV on, shaking. A movie! Jesse wanted her to act in a real movie! She could hardly believe it!

xxxxx

Rachel was discharged later that day and her dads brought her home. They told her about the school's call and she just nodded her head, heading upstairs to her room. Once she was there, Rachel laid on her bed, looking at the ceiling.

A minute later, Puck's face was hovering over hers. His lips were on hers the next second as his hands rested on her waist. "You're back," he breathed after he pulled away.

"Are you stalking me or something?" she teased, looking over at her door, making sure it was shut. It was.

"No, I was just in the neighborhood," he claimed, though Rachel suspected he was lying. "Besides, someone had to be here to welcome you home from the hospital," he laughed, pulling her close as he lay beside her on her bed.

Rachel smiled, kissing his nose once. She wanted to tell him all about what she'd heard on the TV this morning, but stopped herself. Noah might not want her starring in a movie with Jesse. And Jesse still hadn't even called. She would wait until he called and told her himself before telling Noah. Then it would be too late for him to say anything about it.

"Glad to be home?" he asked, brushing her hair out of her face.

Rachel nodded her head. "I am," she said, leaning her face up to kiss him again. He returned her kiss, pulling her close.

"Good," he said, his fingers trailing over her body. "Also, I was told by Kurt that both of us are expected to be at his house tonight for a party, no excuses allowed," he laughed.

"You saw Kurt today?" Rachel asked.

"Just briefly. I went over to see Finn, but he came running out and said I wasn't allowed to be there, but he wanted me and you over there by eight tonight for a party. And then I came over here and saw you getting out of the car. So I snuck up to your room to surprise you," he teased, kissing her again.

"Do we really have to go to this party?" she asked, taking his hand and lacing their fingers together.

"Well, you have to decide which is worse. Go to a party thrown by Kurt or face the wrath of a furious Kurt?" he asked.

Rachel sighed. "Fine fine, we'll go to the damn party," she laughed, looking over at the clock. "Well, we have a few hours, which means I need to shower and get dressed. You leave and be back here at seven. You can take me out to dinner before we head to the Hummel-Hudson house," she teased, kissing him once.

Puck grumbled a little, though got up and left, promising he'd be back soon.

Rachel headed down the hall to the bathroom, carrying her pink robe with her. She shut the door and locked it, turning on the water a moment later.

Once the water was hot, she stripped off her clothes and climbed in, letting the hot water trickle down her body. She was still getting used to taking actual showers again instead of bathing in a lake. Being stuck on that island really had taught Rachel a few things, like not taking things for granted. Who would have thought the one thing Rachel missed was taking actual showers?

But she had, more than she was willing to admit to Noah. There was just something about the warm water trailing down your back that made Rachel happy.

Rachel picked up her bottle of shampoo, the same stuff she had been using before the crash, and put a small amount in her hand, working it through her dark hair. She wondered if the reason it was still here was because her dads never got rid of it. She hoped not and prayed they had just gone out and got a new bottle. Because despite what she had gone through on the island, she couldn't even begin to imagine what her fathers had gone through.

Their only daughter, snatched from them in a deadly plane crash. Rachel shook the thought out of her head. She was back now, and she wasn't going to leave them ever again.

Once she was clean and had the smell of the hospital washed off her, Rachel dried off with a towel and pulled her robe back on, walking back to her room. There, she dried her hair and straightened it. She was sick of having curly hair all the time. She put on makeup before admiring her reflection in the mirror. She looked nice, which was a change from the dirty look she'd been used to the past few months.

Rachel changed into a tan dress that came down to her knees, the sleeves going down to her elbows. She slipped on a pair of matching flats before hearing one of her dads calling for her.

Sighing, Rachel ran out of her room and headed downstairs, seeing Leroy Berry waiting for her with the phone in his hand. "Someone's asking for you," he said, eyeing his daughter. "Going somewhere?" he asked.

Rachel ignored her father, taking the phone from him instead. "Hello?" she asked.

"Rachel?" came a familiar voice.

"Jesse?" she breathed.

She could practically hear him smiling on the phone. "Hey."

"Um hi," she said, feeling a knot in the back of her throat. Here she was, talking to the boy who had broken her heart by cracking an egg on her forehead. Though she'd returned the favor when she chose to get back with Finn instead of back with him. "How—how are you?" she asked nervously.

"Good, good. LA's been great. Listen, I want to ask you a question."

"Alright, I'm listening."

"A friend and I are working on a script about the crash you and Puckerman were in, but we don't really know what happened."

"So?"

"Well, you and him are the only ones who know what happened. And since Puckerman hates me, I was wondering if you'd come out to LA for a week or two. You know, like a consultant for the script."

Rachel felt her heart beating in her chest. "Um, I'll have to ask my dads, but I think so. Dad!" she yelled, running into the kitchen. "Here, you talk to him," she said, thrusting the phone into her dad's hand.

Hello?" Leroy asked, looking up at his daughter with a confused expression. He listened closely, nodding his head as Rachel waited with anticipation. "Well, I suppose we could arrange something with the school," he said thoughtfully. "Why don't you give me your number and I'll give you a call later this week," he said. He scribbled the number down on a piece of paper before hanging up. "Rachel?" he asked.

"Please Daddy. I really want to go. They're making a movie about me and they want me to play myself. Please let me go?"

Leroy chuckled a little. "I'll talk to the school. No promises," he said as the doorbell rang. Rachel ran over, pulling it open to see Puck standing at the door.

"Okay Dad, I'm going," she said, trying to leave.

"Hold on, Rachel. _Where_ are you going?" he asked.

Rachel bit her lip. "Well, Kurt's having a party, and he said I have to come. So Noah's going to drive me there. I'll be back before midnight, or I'll call if I'm not. Please, can I go?" she asked.

Leroy let out a sigh. "Alright, fine. But I don't want to get a phone call from Mr. Hummel complaining," he said, knowing he never would. His daughter was a good kid.

Rachel nodded, taking Puck's hand and pulled him over to his car while her father watched with an amused look. Rachel climbed into the passenger's side, waving to her father.

"Be safe!" he called as they drove away.

"So, dinner?" he asked, looking over at Rachel. She looked amazing. Plus, the little dress she was wearing showed off her legs wonderfully. He reached a hand over, letting it inch up her leg slowly.

Rachel nodded her head. "There's a vegan café not too far from here. Let's go there," she said.

Puck didn't even bother complaining. He was too hungry to actually care where they were eating or what they were going to eat.

Puck followed her directions, pulling into the parking lot and opened the door for her once they had parked. "Am I allowed to hold your hand when we walk in?" he teased, taking her hand before waiting for an answer.

Rachel smiled up at him, holding his hand lightly. "Yes, you can hold my hand," she laughed. The two of them walked inside and were seated immediately. It seemed people in Lima didn't eat vegan—there was only one other table with people at it.

Rachel looked over the menu, her foot tapping on the floor. "I can actually get something that isn't dirt here, right?" Puck asked, opening the menu.

Rachel gave him a look. "Don't be a jerk," she said. "There's plenty of stuff here you'll like," she promised.

Puck gave her a look, though decided to keep quiet. She did seem actually annoyed that he'd insulted her diet choices.

The waiter came over and Rachel ordered them both a glass of water, then ordering Puck vegan chili and herself noodle stir fry. Puck stayed quiet as the waiter walked away before turning to her. "So, do you come here a lot?" he asked.

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "Sometimes. I like this place, and the prices are pretty good," she said before biting her lip. Was she supposed to pay since she was the one who suggested coming here? Or did he because he was the guy? This was the one thing she hated about dating.

Rachel and Puck chatted quietly about what the party was going to be like. When Kurt was the host, no one knew really what to expect.

When their food came, they ate quietly, not showing each other a lot of affection. Rachel could see, out of the corner of her eye, the waiter watching them. She supposed it was because of their picture being splashed on every news channel, but still, it was weird.

When the check came, Puck paid instantly, shaking his head at her claims that she didn't mind paying. "My treat," he said. "You just got out of the hospital, the least I can do is pay for dinner," he laughed.

Puck and Rachel headed out of the restaurant and climbed back into his car. Puck took her hand as he started driving towards Kurt's house, smiling over at her.

"Do we tell them?" he asked, turning onto Kurt's street. "Or do I still act like you're just my friend?"

Rachel bit her lip. "You can decide," she said. Puck nodded his head, not saying anything after that as he pulled into the driveway. He helped Rachel out of the car, but didn't take her hand.

The two of them walked up to the door, hearing the music playing already. Puck rang the doorbell and was greeted by Kurt, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Finally!" he laughed, letting the two of them in. Everyone from glee club was there, all of them looking at Rachel and Puck as they walked in.

It was now or never. Without even thinking twice, Puck pulled Rachel close and kissed her. It wasn't an innocent little peck, either. It was a full-on mouth kiss, complete with tongue.

Everyone was silent, watching them. Then, someone let out a whistle, and when Puck pulled away, everyone was cheering.

Kurt put an arm around both of their necks. "Finally. I was wondering when you two were going to tell everyone!" he laughed, handing them each a cup filled with some kind of alcohol.

Puck laughed, watching Kurt head back over to Blaine and give him a slightly drunk kiss. "What was that all about?" Rachel asked as Puck placed an arm around her shoulders.

"Well, I decided I didn't want Hudson thinking he still stood a chance with you," he laughed, taking a sip of his drink. "You're all mine, and I wanted at least everyone in New Directions to know it. Now come on, baby. Let's dance!"

Rachel was pulled into the small crowd by Puck as Lady Gaga blared on the speakers. Puck pulled her close, his hands on her waist, forcing her ass against his hips. Rachel swiveled her body to the music, her body moving against his.

Puck let out a groan, holding onto her tightly while finishing his drink. After that, his eyes stayed on her, watching every little move she made. He leaned down, kissing the side of her neck while she took a long sip from her cup.

Puck looked off to the side, seeing Finn staring at the two of them with jealous eyes. She leaned her head back against Puck's shoulder, his hands running over her stomach.

"Having fun?" he whispered in her ear.

Rachel smiled and nodded her head. She was. Puck leaned down and kissed her lightly, the two of them ignoring everyone else in the room, only focusing on each other.


	15. Chapter 13

It was three hours into the party, and Rachel was completely drunk. She was dancing energetically to the music, spilling her cup of beer on her as she did so.

Puck stood off to the back watching, amused by the entire scene playing in front of his eyes. He'd never really seen Rachel drunk before. Apparently, she was a lot of fun.

Rachel spun around to the music, losing her balance and fell back into Mercedes. Puck took a step forward to help her, but relaxed when Mercedes laughed and helped her back up. Rachel took her hands, starting to dance with her instead.

"Your girlfriend seems to be having fun," Kurt said, walking up next to him and putting an arm around her shoulders. "She seems happier. Happier than before you two disappeared, I mean."

Puck nodded his head, taking a sip of whatever was in his cup as he continued watching Rachel. "I like to think she is, and I like thinking I'm bringing her that happiness. But what do I know?" he chuckled.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Trust me, Puck. You are the entire reason Rachel Berry is finally acting like a normal person," he teased. "And this is the gay best friend talk where I warn you about spraying hair spray in your eyes if you ever break her heart and fuck up her life."

Puck laughed quietly. "Don't worry, I have no plans to do that to her. I care about her."

"Do you love her?" Kurt asked.

"She knows I do."

"Do you just think she knows or did you actually tell her?"

"Shit Kurt, do we really need to talk about my love life right now? I'm not exactly in a sober state of mind."

"Just tell me you told her you love her."

"I told her, alright? I told her once on the island. So she knows I love her. Is the interrogation about my intentions towards Rachel over yet?"

"For now," Kurt joked, disappearing into the crowd, searching for Blaine, who was very drunk and dancing like a mad person.

The song changed, and Puck heard Rachel start shrieking. She ran—well, more stumbled—over to him and grabbed his shirt. "Baby, this is my favorite song! Come dance," she said, pulling him with her back to the dance area.

Puck laughed a little, wrapping an arm around her to hold her up while she danced against him, singing the lyrics at the top of her lungs.

It seemed alcohol didn't affect her voice. Even completely wasted, Rachel had a voice like an angel.

Puck grabbed her cup out of her hands as she danced, preventing her from spilling even more of it on herself or him. Kurt and Blaine were next to them, dancing and singing as wildly as Rachel.

Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck, dancing close to him as she kept singing.

_That's what I like about you,  
That's what I like about you_

Puck smiled at her, kissing her lightly on the lips, his hands gripping her waist tightly. Kurt sashayed closer to them, leaning over towards Puck. "She needs to go home before she pukes all over the floors and Dad makes me clean it up. These hands are not meant for manual labor," he said dramatically.

Puck made a face. "But we're having so much fun!"

"I'm kicking you out, Puckerman. Take your drunken girlfriend home. And don't you dare try and get into her pants tonight!" he added loudly, causing everyone to look at them.

"Thanks, Kurt," Puck muttered, slipping an arm around Rachel's waist. "Come on, baby. I'll take you home," he said, kissing the top of her head.

"Do we have to leave?" Rachel whined. "I'm having fun."

"Your gay best friend is kicking us out. Besides, I want your dads to think I'm an okay guy by getting you home before your curfew, even if you are a hot mess," he teased, waving to everyone before leading Rachel out of the house and down the front steps. He helped her into his car before climbing into the driver's seat, pulling away from Kurt's house.

xxxxx

Rachel yawned, sitting up in her bed, the sunlight shining on her face. Her head was kissing her, her throat was scratchy, and she could barely remember what had happened the night before.

She looked next to her, seeing Noah asleep in her bed. She looked around, making sure it was her room before hitting him in the shoulder. "Noah, wake up!" she hissed, not wanting to wake her dads and have them find Noah asleep in her bed.

"Let me sleep. It's Saturday," he mumbled, swatting her hand away.

"Yes, well you're asleep in my bed on Saturday!" she whispered.

"I know," he replied smugly, not bothering to open his eyes. "I love your bed," he added. "It's very comfortable."

"Yes, well my dads won't care how comfortable you think it is if they catch you in here."

"They're not home," he reassured her. "They went out half an hour ago for breakfast and said they'd be back around noon."

"Wait…you saw my dads this morning?" Rachel asked, completely confused at this point.

"Well yeah. They came into the guest room, said they were heading out, and I was free to make myself at home. And they thanked me for getting you home safe last night. Baby, I really need to teach you how to handle your alcohol," he teased, kissing her forehead.

"but why were they even okay with you being here?" she asked, leaning up in bed.

"Well, you passed out in the car last night, so I had to carry you in. They saw me, said they didn't want me driving home that late after I'd been drinking, and said I could stay the night in the guest room. So I did," he said, running his hand up and down her arm.

Rachel groaned, covering her face with her hands. "Great, so my dads saw me drunk last night."

"No, I told them you hadn't had anything to drink but you were so tired, you fell asleep in the car. I think they bought it," he claimed.

Rachel gave him a suspicious look, but Puck feigned innocence, kissing her forehead. "So, what's the plan for today, beautiful girlfriend of mine?" he asked, trying to distract her.

"Just because you call me beautiful doesn't mean I'm not still mad at you for parading me in front of my dads when I was passed out drunk," she grumbled, though there was a smile on her face. "We could stay in. I'll make us breakfast and we can watch cheesy movies all day," she suggested.

Puck nodded his head. Sounds like a great idea, baby. I'll have to—" Puck was cut off by Rachel's phone vibrating and ringing on her bedside table.

She picked it up, looking at the caller. "It's Kurt. Did you leave your wallet at his house or something?" she asked before flipping her phone open and answering it. "Hello?"

"Rachel? It's Kurt."

"Yeah, I know," she said, combing her hair out of her eyes. "What's wrong? Did Noah leave something at your house last night?"

"No no, that's not why I'm calling. Have you turned on the TV today yet?" he asked, sounding slightly panicked.

"No, we just woke up. Why, what is it? What's going on?" she asked, biting her lower lip.

"Wait, Puck's there with you?"

"Yeah, my dads let him stay in the guest room last night. He's sitting here next to me right now. Kurt, what's going on?" Rachel demanded.

"Just go downstairs and turn on any kind of news channel. You need to see what they're talking about. Both of you do," he said vaguely before hanging up. Rachel closed her phone before looking at Puck. "He said we need to turn on the TV."

Puck helped Rachel out of bed, taking her hand and headed downstairs with her. They took a seat on the couch in the living room, flipping the TV on.

_Teenage Island Lovers?_

That was the headline at the bottom of the screen. Rachel stared, her mouth wide open. How did they know…? A picture of Puck cuddled next to Rachel at the hospital in bed flashed across the screen and she froze.

Puck put an arm around her as they watched the host talking to one of their reporters.

"Natalie, tell us where you are."

"Thank you, Andrew. I'm here on the island where the two Lima teens reportedly spent the last four months after their plane crashed." She walked over to the hut where she and Puck had slept. Rachel felt herself stiffen as she ran her hand over the mat. This wasn't right. That was her and Puck's home. To have someone touch it like that felt…wrong.

"As you can see, the two teens slept in here. We've found scraps of clothing and this," she said, holding up one of the leaf tops Rachel had worn.

"What else did you find?" the host asked.

The reported called Natalie held up a ripped condom wrapper. Rachel sat there in shock, not hearing what she said about it.

The camera went back into the studio. "Well, this will certainly make Jesse St. James' movie about the island much more interesting," he chuckled. "Especially with Rachel Berry helping them with the script. "

Puck turned the TV off as both of them sat there in silence. Rachel was the first one to speak. "I feel like I was just violated. Are they allowed to just go there and do that?" she asked,

"I guess so," he said quietly. "It's not like we own that island." He was still thinking about how to bring up the fact that she was supposedly helping Jesse, her ex-boyfriend, with a movie about the worst moments of his life. "About Jesse…"

"It's nothing. He called yesterday and asked if I could help with the movie. My dads and I are going out to LA in a few weeks."

"So it's true," he muttered. "You're planning on telling your ex-boyfriend all about what happened without even asking me or doing me the decency of telling me yourself. Instead, I find out about it on some trashy news program," he muttered through clenched teeth.

"Baby…"

"Don't baby me!" he yelled, standing up. "How could you do this, Rachel? We agreed we'd keep this private, not let everyone into our lives. We agreed on that!"

"But Jesse wants me to star in the movie!" she pleaded, shrinking away from him.

Puck let out a bitter laugh. "So _that's_ what this is about. You. It's always been about you, Rachel. You don't care about anyone but yourself. As long as Rachel Berry becomes famous, that's all that matters. Who cares what her loser boyfriend thinks!" he spat.

"Noah, I never said that—"

Puck held up a hand, cutting her off. "Spare me. I don't want to hear any more of your lies."

"I never lied!" Rachel claimed. "You never asked about it!"

"I never thought I had to! You lied by omission, Rachel. You should have told me as soon as Jesse called you about this. This isn't your decision! It's mine too!"

"You're just jealous that Jesse wants me to star as myself and he doesn't want you!" she replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

Puck couldn't help it—he flung the television remote across the room. "You think _that's _what I care about?" he shouted. "You think I care about being in some movie? God Rachel, I thought you'd changed. You're the same selfish person as you were before. It doesn't matter how many people you hurt as long as Rachel _fucking _Berry gets what she wants. You know what? I'm done." He turned away from her, grabbing his keys off the counter.

"Where are you going?" Rachel yelled after him, grabbing his arm.

Puck pushed her off him, not caring if he was being an asshole right now. He was just so mad, he couldn't even look at her. "Away from you," he spat, his voice cold. "I can't even look at you right now, Rachel."

With that, he walked out of her house, slamming the door behind him. Rachel stayed sitting on the floor where she'd landed after he'd pushed her, sobbing. She was pretty sure she'd just fucked up things so badly that she'd lost the love of her life.

**AN: Don't hate me for this chapter. Remember, this is a Puckleberry story :D**


	16. Chapter 14

"I don't know, Kurt. He said I was selfish, and then said he was done and walked out," Rachel sobbed into the phone, curled in her bed.

Kurt had spent the past hour playing counselor to Rachel, listening to every detail of her and Puck's fight.

"Well, what you did was kind of selfish," Kurt admitted.

"Whose side are you on?" Rachel cried, wiping her eyes. "He just started yelling and didn't let me even explain!"

Kurt sighed, shaking his head. "Look, Rachel. I'm not trying to say what he did was right. Just…why did you agree to do this without asking him first?"

"Because it's not his decision. It's mine. It's my life and I made the decision that's best for me. I mean, this will get my name out there."

"And that right there is why you're selfish. You never even thought about what Puck would think about you working with Jesse, the ex-boyfriend who cracked an egg on your head in the parking lot. All you cared about was you."

Rachel hiccupped, staying quiet. Was Kurt right? Was she selfish? "Oh god, did I just fuck up everything?" she asked quietly.

"I think so," Kurt murmured, lying back on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "You should have just told him instead of letting him find out the way he did."

"I was going to tell him," she moaned. "I just didn't know when. I was waiting for the right time."

"So you were going to go to LA, work on the script, then come back and tell Puck you were doing this movie with your ex-boyfriend playing the male lead in a romance movie. I'm sure that would have gone over even better when he found out you lied about it for months,: Kurt said sarcastically.

"Okay, so I didn't have a plan about telling him." Rachel let out a sigh. "Tell me, Kurt. How long is he going to be mad at me?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. I don't know how Puck handles stuff like this. Everyone needs different amounts of time to get over a lie. Just give him space. Go to LA, have some fun, then come back and apologize to him. It'll all be okay, Rachel. I promise," Kurt said, attempting to comfort her.

"You're right, Kurt."

"Can you say that again?" he teased. "I can't to get a recording of Rachel Berry saying I'm right. I'll totally set it as my ringtone."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Goodbye, Kurt," she laughed before hanging up the phone.

xxxxx

"Wait, so tell me again what she did?" Sam asked, lounging on his bed while Puck laid on the floor of his room.

"Jesse, her ex, called her last night. He's some big movie star or something now. So he calls her, tells her he's doing a movie about the crash and wants her to help him with the script and star in it as herself. Then she doesn't even tell me and I find out on some trashy TV program!" Puck threw a pillow at the wall in frustration.

"Okay, let's get anything breakable away from you," Sam joked, earning a death glare from Puck. "Sorry sorry, I was just kidding," he said, holding up his hands in surrender. "I mean, what she did was pretty shitty, but you can't hate her for forever. She fucked up, but you still care about her."

"Who said I still care about her? I don't even want to see her face again. She's a lying, selfish bitch."

Sam let out a sigh. "That's the anger talking."

"Sam, just shut up and let me vent. If I wanted your advice, I'd ask for it!" Puck snapped. Sam fell quiet after that, letting Puck call Rachel names without a word.

"It's just…I get why she's doing this. Why did she have to lie? Why didn't she feel like she could tell me?"

"Because you would have flipped out the same way," Sam muttered, staring at his ceiling. Puck looked over at him. "I mean, she's going to LA to work with her ex-boyfriend, who has personally offered to make her dreams come true."

"No, I would have been okay with it if she had just _told_ me instead of lying."

"Wow, you are a terrible liar," Sam scoffed. "You can tell yourself until you are blue in the face that you would let her do it, but we both know you would have reacted this way if she had told you this last night."

"You're an asshole, I hope you know that. You're terrible at making me feel better."

Sam let out an exasperated sigh. "Just go back and apologize and tell her how much you adore her and make out until you have no saliva left in your mouth."

Puck gave him a look. "I told you, I don't want to see her now. Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow but I doubt it. She screwed up so bad, I don't know if I can ever trust her again."

"You can trust her. She made a mistake—a big mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. Just avoid her for a week and see how you feel after that. If you're still pissed, well I guess you two can stay mad at each other and broken up or whatever. But if you still care about her, _then_ you can go over there and make up and make out," Sam laughed, tossing a pillow at him.

"We're never making up," Puck said with determination. "I'm never going to forgive her for this. When we were on that island, we told each other everything since there was no one else around. We talked for hours about stuff I never talked with anyone else about. And now…it's like she's changed completely. I don't even know if I want her anymore."

Sam let out a sigh. "Just think it over. She does love you, even if you think she doesn't. I can tell by the way she looks at you. She thinks you're the most amazing person in the world, and one offer from an ex-boyfriend isn't going to change that. But that's just my opinion," he muttered. "I guess you have to do what you think is best. Just make me a promise."

"What?"

"Don't hook up with anyone for at least a week. Think this over, and if you still feel this way, then you can move on. But wait that week. I don't want you to screw up the first real relationship you've ever had because you were pissed off."

"Alright, I promise," Puck murmured.

xxxxx

Rachel returned to school the next Wednesday. After a long discussion with Ms. Pillsbury, they agreed she could be put back in regular classes with homeschooling once a week to help her catch up with what she missed and private tutoring once she went to LA.

Rachel hadn't heard from Noah since their fight, and she wasn't sure what that meant for them. All she knew was that Noah had said 'I'm done' before walking out of her house. Did that mean they were over?

It didn't surprise her if they were. She just figured they were never meant to last off the island. Why would the stereotypical bad boy want to be with Queen of the Geeks?

Rachel walked down the halls of McKinley High, ignoring all the stares and whispers she was getting. She stopped in front of her old locker, taking a deep breath before spinning the dial and opening it.

Her stuff from last year was still in there. The pictures of her with Finn, her mirror, a photo of her with her dads, along with multiple pictures of her with everyone in New Directions. She smiled, running her fingers over the picture of her, Kurt, Sam, and Puck. Her fingers stopped on Puck's face before she brought her finger to her eyes, wiping a tear away. She shut the locker hastily, refusing to even look at his face. She just hoped she didn't have many classes with him. She didn't know how she'd survive them.

"Oh Miss Berry!" came a loud voice from down the hall. Rachel looked up, seeing Kurt and Blaine walking arm in arm towards her. She smiled, leaning against her locker before the enveloped her in a hug.

"It's good to have you back, Rachel," Blaine said.

"Yeah," Kurt added. "Glee hasn't been the same without your amazing voice. It's a good thing you're back or we would have gotten creamed at Sectionals like we were at Nationals."

"You guys lost?" she asked, starting to walk with them towards English.

Blaine let out a groan. "It was painful. Without you there, no one had the range to hit those notes in the songs you were supposed to sing. We didn't even make the top ten."

Rachel winced, though was secretly happy. It was nice knowing they actually _needed_ her to succeed.

"Have you spoken to Puck?" Kurt asked. Blaine looked at her, having already been filled in by his boyfriend about the going ons of Rachel Berry's love life.

Rachel let out a groan. "You told Blaine? You promised not to tell anyone!"

"Hey, to be fair, Tina mentioned it before Kurt did," Blaine said, defending his boyfriend.

Rachel frowned. "How did Tina know?"

"Puck must have told everyone about your fight. That or whoever he did tell spread it around. Everyone in school probably knows by now," Kurt admitted.

Rachel sighed. "Great, now people have something else to talk about besides my amazing survival of a deadly plane crash. But to answer your question, no, I haven't. I haven't even seen him since he left. And I don't want to see him until he wants to see me," she said stubbornly.

"Rachel…"

"No, Kurt. You weren't there. He was so mad, I thought he was going to trash my house. Until he's calmed down, I don't want to see Noah Puckerman," she murmured, opening the door to the English room and walked in with Kurt and Blaine following her.

"…_I don't want to see Noah Puckerman."_ Puck froze in the hallway as Rachel, Kurt, and Blaine passed. That was the only part of the conversation he caught, but it was enough to cause him to freeze in his tracks. He was supposed to be in science with Sam, but he couldn't even more. Rachel didn't want him anymore.

It didn't make sense. _She_ was the one who lied, he should hate her. But he didn't. The days they'd spent apart made him want her more. He loved her, he wanted to make up and spend all night cuddling in her bed. But after hearing her talk to Kurt and Blaine…well, that was hopeless.

He shouldn't have yelled. That had to be why she didn't want to see him again, because he'd yelled in her face and pushed her to the ground. He had a bad temper, but that didn't mean he should have taken out his anger on Rachel directly. He should have just left instead of causing Rachel to hate him.

Puck let out a sigh, running his hand over his Mohawk. Fuck, he was an idiot. Well, if she didn't want him, he wouldn't bother her. After all, Rachel's happiness mattered more than his own.

Later that day, everyone was seated in the choir room as Mr. Schuester welcomed Rachel and Puck back. Rachel was seated on one side of the room next to Tina while Puck was sitting next to Sam as far away from her.

"Mr. Schue?" Puck asked, interrupting his teacher.

"Yes, Puck?"

"Would it be alright if I sang something? It's been so long since I had a chance to sing in front of people."

Mr. Schuester smiled. "Of course, Puck. Go right ahead." He took a seat in the front row next to Artie while Puck walked up to the front, taking a seat on a stool and picked up the guitar.

"I'd like to thank Sam for the sing choice," he said, shooting him a thumbs up. Sam grinned back as Puck started strumming the guitar and sang _Tuesday's Gone_ by Lynyrd Skynyrd. **(If you've never heard this song, I suggest you youtube it because it is amazing!)**

Puck placed the guitar down as he finished the song, looking over at Rachel. She was in tears, her head on Kurt's shoulder. Fuck, he didn't mean to make her cry.

Without even a word, she stood up and walked out of the room, everyone looking after her curiously.

xxxxx

Saturday afternoon, Puck was lying outside in his backyard, staring into the sky and feeling very sorry for himself. He _missed_ Rachel. There, he admitted it. Noah Puckerman missed Rachel Berry.

All he could think about was her shining hair, her pouty lips, her voice. All he wanted was to see her again, but she didn't want to see him. He was doing his best to do what she wanted, but it was becoming extremely difficult.

"Well, aren't you a sad excuse for a human being?"

Puck sat up, seeing Kurt walk into his backyard with a smirk on his face. Puck groaned, lying back down. "What do you want, Humml? I thought you'd hate me like _she_ does."

Kurt took a seat on a chair in the yard, not willing to sit on the grass with the pants he was wearing. He wasn't going to risk ruining them with grass stains.

"Why would I hate you?"

"Because Rachel hates me. And you're like her, gay best friend or whatever, I figured you'd take her side."

"There's no sides. Besides, who said Rachel hated you?"

"She did!" Puck laughed humorlessly, throwing his hands over his face. "In the hall on Wednesday. She was talking to you and said she never wanted to see me again."

Kurt let out a sigh. "You need to open your ears. She said she was so upset and heartbroken that she didn't want to see you until you wanted to make up because it was too hard. Have you been torturing yourself since then because you thought she hated you?" Kurt asked, amused.

Puck made a face at him before sitting up. "Wait, she doesn't hate me? She loves me still?"

Kurt laughed. "That's what I just said, Romeo. She's probably in her room crying about how you still haven't forgiven her. So, I have one question for you. If you still love her, what you are doing here with me?"

Puck nodded his head, jumping to his feet. "Yeah, thanks Kurt!" he called over his shoulder as he ran out of the yard, Kurt smiling after him.

Puck didn't bother catching a ride to the Berry's house. He ran the whole way, panting as he reached their front porch. He knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again. Still nothing.

"Rachel!" he shouted, pounding on the door. "Rachel, I'm sorry! Please, open the door!" he yelled, but the house stayed silent.

Puck felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around, an elderly lady standing beside him. "Can I help you, dear?" she asked.

"You—do you know the Berrys?" he asked, wiping sweat off his forehead.

"Of course. I've lived next to them for as long as I can remember."

"Do you know where they are? I _have_ to talk to Rachel. It's important."

The lady frowned. "Well sure. The Berry's left last night. They moved to Los Angeles."

Puck felt his heart drop into his stomach. He pulled his phone out, punching in Rachel's number and hit send, putting the phone to his ear.

There was a dial tone before an automated voice came on: _We're sorry, the number you dialed is no longer in service._

Puck slowly sat down on the porch, his face buried in his hands. He'd blown it. He'd finally realized he couldn't live without Rachel, and now it was too late. She was gone.


	17. Chapter 15

_Los Angeles, California_

"Rachel," Hiram Berry said to his daughter, stopping her before she got out of the car. "Are you sure about this?"

Rachel nodded her head silently. "I am," she whispered. "This is what I want, Daddy. I never want to go back to Ohio again. Noah made it clear—he doesn't want to see me ever again. He hates me."

She grabbed her bag, walking out of the car and into the apartment building where they were going to be living for now.

Leroy and Hiram had agreed to indulge their daughter for the time being—they hadn't sold their house. The figured once this all blew over, she would be dying to go back home. Rachel could be a bit of a drama queen, after all.

The Berry family had driven from Lima, not wanting to take a plane after Rachel's disastrous last flight. Instead, they'd spent three days driving across the country, finally arriving in Los Angeles late Tuesday evening. Leroy went in to see the building superintendent while Rachel and Hiram unpacked their suitcases. They'd had a moving truck come down and move their stuff in a day before, making it much easier to just go in and relax when they arrived.

Once they had the keys to their apartment, Rachel followed her dads upstairs to the three-bedroom apartment. It was actually relatively nice. Not elegant, but not a Bate's Motel-esque place either. She could live here for the time being—at least for a few months.

Rachel flipped open her new phone—complete with a new number—and looked at the five numbers she had programed into it—Dad, Dad, Kurt, Jesse, and Noah. She knew she was being stupid putting the last one in there, but it was just in case. Just in case she got the nerve up to call him and apologize for being herself and not thinking about him when she made a decision.

Rachel walked into her room, dropping her bag on the floor before flopping onto her bed, scrolling through the texts Jesse had sent her while they were driving—'im excited to c u', 'ur gonna love la', ill pick u up 4 lunch tmrw'. She supposed she was excited to see him. It was like seeing an old classmate—she wasn't dying to see him, but it would be nice to see someone she knew.

Rachel highlighted Kurt's name before pressing call and placed the phone next to her ear. She heard the ringing noise before there was a click.

"You have some explaining to do," Kurt said angrily, not even bothering with a hello. Rachel had texted Kurt, telling him she'd call him later. He'd responded with just as much hostility then as he was giving her now.

"What do you want me to tell you, Kurt?" she replied in a quiet voice.

"The truth!" he snapped. "Why, Rachel? Why'd you leave? And why didn't you tell me?"

Shit, she'd never even thought about that. All she was concerned with was putting as much distance between her and Noah as possible. But Kurt…he was one of her best friends. Self-centered Rachel never even thought to tell him she was leaving. Hell, she'd never even said goodbye.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I should have told you. I…I should have said goodbye."

"And what about Puck? Did you think about him or did you just think about yourself again?"

A confused expression crossed Rachel's face, even though Kurt couldn't see it. "What are you talking about? He hates me. He doesn't want to see me again," she murmured.

Kurt let out a sigh. "He came to me on Saturday, going on and on about how he thought you hated him. So I told him to go get you back since you still loved him. He called me basically in tears when he found out you skipped town without so much as a goodbye. He's heartbroken, Rachel. Congratulations—you broke Noah Puckerman's heart."

"Shut up, he hated me. I know he did. He didn't want me anymore," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "He said 'that's it, I'm done' before he left my house. Why would he want to get back to me after that?"

"Because he loves you, Rachel!" Kurt shouted into the phone. "Or he did—I'm not so sure now. He's like a zombie now. He goes to classes, but he doesn't talk. He stopped coming to glee club. It's like he lost all the happiness in his life, and that's your fault," he accused.

Rachel chewed on her bottom lip as Kurt's words sunk in. Fuck, she'd screwed up big time. And now it was too late to fix it—she was in Los Angeles. She couldn't just run back to Lima to apologize to him.

"Could you…" She paused, wiping her eyes. "Could you tell him I'm sorry?" she asked meekly.

"Rachel, stop chewing that pretty lip of yours and stop crying. I'll try and make this right," Kurt promised. "Though I don't know if I can."

"What do you mean you don't know if you can?" she asked with a hint of panic in her voice.

"I told you, Rachel—it might be too late. Have fun with Jesse tomorrow—I'll call you after school," he promised before hanging up the phone.

"Yeah, talk to you then," she whispered, looking down at her phone sadly.

The next morning, Jesse came up to the Berry's new apartment, an air of superiority about him. After all, he was the star of a successful TV show.

Rachel's dads insisted on getting him something to drink, even though they didn't have anything except water in the apartment. Jesse seemed to be okay with it, though.

Rachel walked out of her room, dressed in a simple sundress with tan sandals strapped to her feet. Jesse smiled at her, running a hand through his perfectly groomed hair. "Rachel, you're a vision," he complimented, taking her hand and kissing the back of it.

Rachel smiled, a blush touching her cheeks, though she couldn't help but feel that this was slightly wrong. She didn't want to give Jesse the wrong impression—this was strictly professional.

Rachel waved goodbye to her fathers, heading out of the apartment with Jesse and into his very flashy car. She couldn't hide her astonishment at the sight of it.

"Do you like it?" he asked, taking in her expression. "It was a gift from the studio after we were picked up for a second season," he bragged. "I am the star, after all."

In the back of her mind, Rachel remembered why she didn't go out with him again after the junior prom—he was still as arrogant as he used to be. Hollywood had just made that trait worse.

Rachel climbed into the car, making sure the back of her dress didn't fly up and expose her underwear—there were photographers all around them, wildly taking pictures.

"Don't worry, Rach," Jesse said as he climbed into the car, placing the key into the ignition. "You get used to the paparazzi. After all, you get more worried when they stop stalking you for picture." He let out a laugh, peeling away from her apartment, leaving the men eager for a photograph of the two in the dust. "I guarantee there will be speculation the two of us are dating by tonight," he chuckled.

"But I don't want people to think we're dating," she whispered, already overwhelmed by the city. She wasn't sure this was what she wanted now. She should have said no and stuck with her dream of New York instead.

"Having second thoughts?" he asked, picking up on her insecurities. "Relax, it'll get better, I promise. People are just so enthralled with you and your survival story at the moment. You're hot news, Rachel. And hot news sells magazines. Couple that with a popular actor, and you're looking at record sales for the week. How could someone like _Star_ pass that up?" he asked.

"But can't we sue them for lying? I mean, we're not dating," she reminded him.

"Oh, they won't say anything that's an outright lie. They'll just make wild speculations and show photos of me coming out of your apartment or us at lunch. People will make their own judgments from that."

Rachel let out a groan. Great, just what she wanted. Her relationship with Noah was a mess, and now every gossip blog was going to report she was in a fictional relationship.

Jesse pulled into the valet line for _Lucque's_, handing the attendant his keys, as well as a large tip. Rachel rolled her eyes a little, guessing he was just showing off for her. He held his arm out to her, and she took it, allowing him to lead her inside.

The two were seated instantly after the hostess and Jesse chatted for a few minutes. Their table was in the back, more private than some of the other tables. Jesse ordered them a bottle of mineral water before turning to Rachel, a smile on his face.

"So, what do you think of the city so far?" he asked pleasantly, placing his napkin on his lap.

"It's okay," she said. "I mean, I don't hate it, but I kind of wish I was in New York instead," she admitted.

Jesse smiled over at her. "I know—that's your dream. But if you do this movie, Rachel, you'll get your dream and so much more. This movie is going to launch you into superstardom!" he grinned, spreading his arms apart for effect.

Rachel toyed with the napkin in her lap, not meeting his eyes. She'd been having second thoughts about the movie ever since last night. Puck didn't want her to do this, and now she wasn't sure she wanted to do it, either.

"What's wrong?" he asked, frowning.

"It's just...I don't think Noah's okay with this movie, with me playing myself and someone else playing him."

Jesse let out a sigh, thanking the waitress as she brought them their water. He opened the bottle, pouring Rachel and himself a glass. "Rachel, are you going to let some guy hold you back from your dream? I thought you said never again after Hudson tried to change you."

"Well, yeah but—"

"But nothing! This is your life, Rachel! Are you going to let some guy make decisions for you instead of doing what you're _destined_ for?"

"Destined?" she asked, her face heating up. That was a big compliment coming from Jesse.

"Yes, destined. From the moment I met you, I knew you were going to be a star. And this is it, Rachel. This is your one chance! Please, take a chance on me and say yes," he begged.

Rachel chewed on her lip, thinking over everything he had said. "Well, I'll at least help with the script," she eventually said. "I'll have to think about starring in it."

A grin spread onto Jesse's face. "You won't regret this, I promise," he laughed, kissing her cheek.

xxxxx

_Three months later_

"No, change that," Rachel said, pointing to a line of text on the computer screen. "Noah would never say anything like that," she reasoned, giving Jesse a look.

With a sigh, he deleted the line, drumming his fingers on the desk as he thought. "I don't know how to end this damn script!" he yelled, knocking the empty cup of coffee onto the ground of his office. Rachel was seated next to him dressed in an oversized sweater and jeans, her dark hair pulled back into a messy braid. The two of them, along with help from Jesse's college friend, had been hard at work for the past few months on the script, and it was finally done.

Well, almost.

"Everything I write sounds stupid and clichéd. It has to be _perfect_!" he yelled, banging his fist on the desk.

Rachel placed a hand on his arm, attempting to relax him. "Hey, calm down," she soothed. "We have time. Just take a breather and think. It'll come to you."

Rachel had become an expert at calming Jesse down when he became frustrated or angry, which seemed to be every day. As much as she hated to admit it, she'd actually been having fun in LA with him. After Kurt called her and told her that Puck had told her to 'go to hell', she decided to make the most of her time in Los Angeles.

She'd been going to clubs with Jesse and his friends, having fun for once in her life. She had nothing to worry about except the script. She had no boyfriend, no daily school, no glee club.

Well, she did miss that. She wasn't even singing anymore. Instead, she was going to clubs and dancing. Despite the fun she was having, she knew it wasn't her.

Her and Jesse were still just friends, despite his attempts to be something more. They'd shared one kiss after a night of drinking, but as soon as she realized wheat she was doing, she took a cab home and cried herself to sleep.

No matter how hard she tried to forget him, she just couldn't. Noah was the last thing she saw in her mind before she fell asleep. Every day, she would stare at his name on her phone, forcing herself not to call him and beg him to take her back.

"Ha! I got it!" Jesse shouted, typing furiously. "Rach, take a look," he said. Jesse had begun calling her that, and after a week, she stopped caring.

Rachel rolled her chair over to the computer, reading what Jesse had just typed. "It's perfect," she proclaimed. "I love it, Jesse. I love the whole script."

"Let's just hope the studio loves it," he said, saving it before attaching it to an email. He sent it to the producer before turning to Rachel. "Now we wait and pray he loves it."

"How long will that take?" she asked.

"Could be awhile." Jesse bit his lip, a habit he had picked up from Rachel.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Do you think he's going to hate it or something?" she worried. If Jesse didn't have faith in their script, there was no way the producer would, either.

Jesse shook his head. "No, that's not it. Rachel, I'm so sorry," he blurted out.

Rachel was taken aback. Sorry for what? Did he do something to her and she had forgotten…

"Sorry for what?" she asked.

"For cracking the egg on your head," he sighed. "I never should have done that to you. It's been eating me up inside ever since that day in the parking lot."

Rachel let out a small laugh. "Jesse, I've gotten over that. That was almost two years ago."

"Yeah, but even if it was ten years ago, it was a dick move. Vocal Adrenaline was telling me I needed to cut ties with you since you were clouding my concentration." He took her hand. "I'm so sorry. Please, tell me you forgive me."

Rachel smiled a little. "I forgive you, Jesse. You were a kid, just like me. You still are a kid, no matter how hard you try not to be."

Jesse smiled a little. "Well, I'm a rich kid, at least," he said, handing her an envelope. "Happy Hanukah."

"Hanukah isn't for another week," Rachel reminded him, though she tore the give open anyways. She looked down at the ticket: LAX to CMH for Friday.

"What's this for?" she asked, feeling her heart beating fast. Was this what she thought it was?

"It's a plane ticket so you can go home for the holidays."

"But this is my home," she said, giving him a look. "I live in an apartment with my dads. I…I…"

"No, your home is Lima. I know you miss it, as well as everyone there. I _want_ you to go there for the holidays. Besides, I have another surprise."

"What?" she asked as he pulled her to her feet, leading her out of the office and to his car. "Jesse, where are we going?"

"To the salon. Have you looked in the mirror, Rach? You are in serious need of a day at the beauty parlor."

"But why?" she demanded, entirely confused at this point.

"Because. I'm going to help you get Puck back."


	18. Chapter 16

_Los Angeles, California_

"I really don't understand the need for all this," Rachel sighed as her hair was shampooed, cut, and dried. "My hair is fine."

Jesse rolled his eyes at her, leaning against the wall as he watched the hairdresser attend to her. "Have you even showered these past few months? You practically look homeless," he teased.

Rachel made a face at him. "I take back what I said about forgiving you," she muttered, though she was smiling. "I don't get why you want to help Noah and I get back together. I didn't think you liked him."

"I don't," he admitted. "Well, I guess I don't care for him one way or another. But I care about you, Rachel. He makes you happy, I can tell. I just want you to be happy again."

"I am happy," she protested, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No you're not. You want to be, but you haven't been really happy. Not since you arrived here, at least. You miss him," he said.

Rachel bit her lip as she felt a comb running through her hair. "Okay okay, I miss him," she admitted. "I still don't see why you're helping me."

"It's all part of my Hanukah gift slash apology to you. You're going to show up in Lima and give Noah the biggest apology he's ever received. He'll beg you to take him back after, I guarantee."

"And the new hair cut is supposed to help with this?" she asked, sounding confused.

"No, but I made a promise I would make you look beautiful before my backup arrived to take you shopping."

"Backup? What backup?"

"This backup," a familiar voice called. Rachel turned her head towards the door, her eyes widening.

"K—Kurt?" she stuttered.

"Hello, doll," he laughed. "Miss me?"

"What are you doing here?" she asked, doing her best to contain her excitement.

"Well, I'm here to make you beautiful for your return to Lima. Jesse wasn't kidding—you do need a lot of work," he teased.

Rachel looked from Jesse to Kurt, putting the pieces together. "You two have been planning this," she accused. "For how long?"

"Ever since you left," Kurt said, not bothering to deny it. "It wasn't easy, trust me. I had to convince Figgins that we needed a winter formal and get New Directions to perform. It's taken me a month to convince Puck to even come to the damn dance—"

"Wait," she interrupted. "What are you talking about? What winter formal?" she asked.

A grin spread across Kurt's face. "I convinced Principal Figgins to have a winter formal this Friday. Everyone's super excited about it. And you're coming," he said.

Rachel's eyes opened wide and she started shaking her head. "No, I am not crashing some dance at McKinley to get him back. I'm not doing it," she said stubbornly.

"I told you she'd say this," Jesse sighed, looking at Kurt and gave him a wink. "I mean, she's in California now. Do you think she'd fly back just for a silly dance?"

"You're right," Kurt said, playing along. "I guess I'll have to get someone else to sing lead for the girls. I just thought it would be great to get the star of New Directions back…"

"Star?" Rachel asked quietly.

"Well, yeah," Kurt said. "Everyone knows you're the star. Think about what it would be like to have you come back to sing for everyone. And to personally sing an apology to Puck. It's be impossible for him not to forgive you," he grinned.

Rachel seemed to think it over. She missed Lima, she missed Noah, and she wanted him back more than anything else in the world. "…but I don't have anything to wear," she murmured.

"Why do you think I skipped school and flew out here for a few days? I'm taking you shopping for the most jaw-dropping dress we can find. You are going to blow everyone away," he said, taking her hand and pulled her out of the chair. "Your hair looks great," he added.

"I still don't see why I needed a haircut," she muttered.

"Because your split ends were horrendous. It took all my self-control not to tell you that when I skyped with you last week. I had to call Jesse right after and demand he take you for a proper trim."

Rachel shook her head. "You are way too concerned about my appearance, Mr. Hummel," she teased, linking arms with him. "So do I get any say in what dress I'm wearing to this dance or am I supposed to just blindly trust you?"

"Blindly trusting me sounds about right," he laughed, leading her into a small boutique next door. Lucky for you, I was already in here and picked out a few dresses. Go try them on," he ordered, pushing her towards a changing room while he and Jesse waited outside for her to model for them.

Rachel emerged in the first dress, a long, one-shouldered, silky green gown. It clung in all the right places and showed off her thin figure nicely.

"You look beautiful," Jesse commented, smiling at her. "Though that seems more fit for a prom than a winter formal. Then again, what do I know," he said with a shrug.

Kurt looked her up and down. "No, Jesse's right. It's more appropriate for prom. Change," he ordered.

Rachel disappeared back into the dressing room, stripping off the gown and pulled the next dress on, emerging from the room after a moment. "What about this one?" she asked. The dress was bright punk with a very full skirt, and it didn't fir Rachel properly.

"No, go change," Kurt said instantly, dismissing her with a wave of the hand. Rachel made a face, though did as she was told, changing into another dress. This one was knee length and white, the straps beaded with sparkling crystals. There was a black ribbon wrapped around the middle.

"Perfect," was the only word Kurt had for Rachel. Jesse nodded his head in agreement, not speaking. "Rachel, you look gorgeous. That's what you're wearing," he decided. "And Jesse's buying it for you, so don't even try to pay for it yourself," he added. "Now go change. We have to get back to your apartment and pack for your return home," he said, ushering her back into the dressing room.

Rachel changed back into the sweats she had been wearing before, stepping out of the dressing room and handed Kurt the dress.

"No. Just…no. I cannot let out walk out of here wearing that. Stay right there." He walked away, looking around the store before coming back with a simple sundress and a pair of sandals, handing them to her. "Put these on." He yanked the tags off them. "I'll pay while you change out of those clothes. I'm burning them as soon as we get back to your apartment. You should _never_ wear those ever again," Kurt informed her, sounding slightly outraged.

Once Rachel was dressed, she walked out of the dressing room, finding Jesse and Kurt already waiting for her.

"Come on, we're on a very tight schedule," Kurt said impatiently, tapping his foot on the ground. Jesse nodded, taking her arm gently and led her out of the store while Kurt carried the bag containing her dress for the dance.

As soon as they walked outside, they were bombarded with photographers—like usual. Rachel was beginning to get used to the invasion of privacy. Spending every day with Jesse meant her picture was always being taken. She didn't like it, but she didn't hate it anymore. It was just a minor annoyance now.

Kurt, however, seemed to be loving the attention they were getting. "I think this is where I'm meant to be," he commented, looking over at Jesse.

Jesse let out a laugh. "Well, once you're done with school, give me a call. I'll see what I can do to get you a job out here. LA does seem to be a good fit for you," he laughed.

The three of them climbed into Jesse's car and he drove them back to Rachel's apartment where they were hounded by more photographers. "This I will not miss about the city," Rachel grumbled, making her way past them and into the building.

Rachel pulled out her keys, opening the door to the apartment and let Kurt and Jesse in with her.

"I'm going to pack your suitcase for your triumphant return home. You two stay out here," he ordered, making his way into Rachel's room and shut the door behind him.

Rachel's dads seemed to be out, probably eating lunch somewhere. Rachel took a seat on the couch, looking over as Jesse joined her.

"I have a question for you," she asked quietly after a few moments of awkward silence.

"I'm listening," he said, slightly curious about what she had to say.

"This whole movie and bringing me out to Los Angeles…was it to try and get me back?" she murmured quietly, wondering what his answer would be.

Jesse seemed to think the question over, running his hand through his hair. "Yes," he admitted.

Rachel bit her lip, not sure how to respond to his answer.

"Well, at first it was," he continued, watching her face carefully. "Ever since you turned me down last year, I couldn't get you out of my mind. But then I saw the pictures of you and Puck together, the way he looked at you and the way you were with him. You were never like that with me, not once. What you two have…that's real love. It's not just some silly high school crush. It's the kind of love that you feel for someone you want to grow old with. And as much as I love you, I want you to be happy. You'd never truly be happy with me, so I decided instead to help you get him back. Besides, you've been miserable here without him," he teased.

Rachel smiled a little, tucking a wisp of hair behind her ear. "You're right, I have been miserable. We ended on such a bad note, I've been in a funk since our massive fight. I'm just hoping this works," she muttered.

Jesse scoffed. "Darling, you have a movie star and your gay best friend helping you. Of course it's going to work," he laughed.

xxxxx

Friday morning, Rachel was practically pushed out of bed by Kurt, who was already dressed and looking like a million bucks. "Come on, come on," he insisted. "We have to leave soon for the airport. The dance is tonight, and I'm going to need all the time from the moment we land until we get to the dance to make you beautiful."

Rachel yawned as she rolled her eyes at him, pulling on the dress Kurt had laid out for her. She quickly ran a comb through her hair, not even bothering with makeup. She kissed her dads goodbye before grabbing her suitcase and headed out the door with Kurt.

Jesse was waiting in the front for them, having offered to drive them to the airport and see them off. "No," Kurt said once they were in the car. "This is not acceptable." He pulled out Rachel's makeup bag and started applying makeup to her tired face.

"Kurt, we're just going on a plane. I don't see why I need a full face of makeup," she sighed.

"Because you're in the public eye now. You can't go anywhere without looking less than fabulous. I can't believe Jesse let you go around town in those horrid sweats." Kurt shivered dramatically.

Jesse rolled his eyes. "We were inside most of the time. I made sure she changed and showered before we went out," he laughed. "I wasn't going to let her go to clubs looking like a bum. They would have never let her in, anyways," he teased as Kurt applied blush to Rachel's pale cheeks.

"It makes no sense. You've been in California for three months, yet your as pale as you were when you left Ohio!" Kurt exclaimed. "If you come back, I'm making it a requirement that you spend one day a week at the beach and get a tan."

Rachel rolled her eyes at him, but didn't say anything for fear of getting yelled at by Kurt for ruining his concentration while doing her makeup.

Jesse made excellent time getting to the airport, which was a miracle considering Los Angeles traffic. He pulled up in front of the area for their airline, helping get their suitcases out of the car. He gave Kurt a friendly handshake before turning to Rachel, a sad smile on his face.

Rachel smiled, giving him a big hug. "Don't look so sad. I'll be back, I promise." She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for everything, Jesse. You're a wonderful friend. I'll see you soon." She gave him one more hug before picking up her suitcase and linked arms with Kurt as they two of them walked inside. She turned back once, giving Jesse a wave goodbye before she and Kurt disappeared inside the airport.

**Okay short chapter, but the next one is going to be realllllly good I promise :D**


	19. Chapter 17

Kurt looked over at Rachel, who was fast asleep with her head on his shoulder. Thank god Blaine's mother was a pill-popper or he would have never gotten Rachel to relax long enough for the plane to take off.

As soon as they had sat down, Rachel had started hyperventilating and claiming that she was cursed and this plane was going to crash too. Anything Kurt said to calm her just made her panic more. Blaine had given him a bottle of Valium before Kurt left, anticipating something like this would happen. Kurt had just given her the pill, and after a bit, she calmed down before falling asleep on his shoulder. She'd been like that since the plane took off.

Now Kurt was left in silence, having only his thoughts for company. He went over the plan again and again in his mind. This had to work—he and Jesse, along with most of the members of New Directions, had spent months planning this out. There was no way it could go wrong. Besides, he _knew _Puck will loved Rachel even though he tried denying it to himself and everyone around him.

Every time Kurt brought Rachel up in a conversation, he saw the way Puck's face contorted, like it physically hurt him to even hear her name. Plus, he hadn't dated _anyone_ since she had left which was unusual for him.

Rachel let out a sigh though stayed fast asleep, her dark hair falling into her face. Kurt gently brushed it away before turning his attention to the window beside her. They'd be landing within an hour, meaning Kurt had approximately three hours to get off the plane, get Rachel and himself ready for the dance, get to Lima, and explain to her exactly how she was making her entrance.

This was never going to work. There wasn't enough time. They were going to end up missing the dance, or Rachel was going to look less than fabulous.

The plane slowly began lowering in the air as the captain came on, telling everyone to buckle their seatbelts for the landing. Kurt shook Rachel's shoulder gently, trying to wake her.

"Rachel," he murmured, watching her eyes flutter open.

"Hmm?" she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes as she sat up, letting out a small yawn.

"We're landing," Kurt said, checking his watch. It was five in the evening. Well, he guessed they were skipping dinner, but it was a sacrifice he was willing to make in this case.

Rachel held onto Kurt's hand tightly as the plane descended. There were a few bumps as the plane landed, but other than that it was a smooth ride.

"See? Nothing to be scared of. It was a completely normal plane ride."

"Yes, but my last one wasn't," she whispered, closing her eyes until the few images of the crash disappeared from her head. She didn't remember much about that night, but she didn't like thinking about the little bits she did remember.

Once the plane arrived at the gate and they were permitted to take off their seatbelts, Kurt glanced down at his watch. Five PM. Damn, they really needed to hustle to make sure they stayed on schedule.

"Come on, Rachel," Kurt muttered, picking up his one bag and draped it over his shoulder. Rachel grabbed her bag and held onto his hand tightly, allowing him to pull her through the crowd on the plane and out into the airport.

Kurt walked quickly through the terminal, Rachel being forced to jog a little to keep up with him. They walked past security and were greeted by all the drivers picking up various people,

Kurt seemed to be scanning the drivers, smiling as he found the sign that said "HUMMEL-BERRY" and headed towards him.

"Mr. Hummel?" the driver asked, looking skeptically at the two teenagers.

"Yes, and this is Miss Berry. Jesse St. James told you where to take us, correct?" he asked. The driver paused before nodding once and took both of their bags, leading them out of the airport. He had them sit on the bench while he went to retrieve his car.

Rachel looked around, chewing on her bottom lip. Kurt sighed, putting an arm around her. "Don't worry, Rach. Everything's going to be okay," he promised, though it was silly to promise something like that when he wasn't sure if it _was_ going to be okay.

The driver pulled up a few minutes later and helped them into the car after putting their bags in. He climbed in the driver's seat and started to head towards Lima.

Kurt pulled a makeup bag and hair supplies out of his carry on, looking at Rachel. "Listen, we only have a few hours before the dance starts," he said when she gave him a look. "Don't complain and let me make you beautiful."

Rachel rolled her eyes but had a smile on her face as Kurt started combing and curling her hair, letting it fall over her shoulders. He worked on putting on her makeup as well. Rachel stayed silent, not wanting to incur the wrath of Kurt if she messed up his concentration.

The entire time he was doing her hair, he was telling her the plan for when they arrived for the dance. He'd already picked out the two songs she was singing to Puck and promised that the entire glee club had agreed to help her out—Finn and Sam were going to make sure Puck was there to hear her sing while Tina and Quinn would help her sing.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Rachel asked. "What if he still doesn't forgive me?" she asked after looking over the two sings Kurt was having her sing. "What if he takes on look at me and walks away because he still hates me?"

"Well, that's when Santana says it's lady's choice and you ask him to dance," Kurt explained. "She's going to sing something slow, and you'll dance and apologize to him. Trust me, Jesse and I planned this all out." Kurt placed a hand on top of hers. "Just relax and breathe. You'll be fine."

The closer they got to Lima, the more Rachel started freaking out about what was about to happen. Two hours until the dance…now one hour.

No, she couldn't do this. She couldn't see him again, not after their last fight. It didn't matter how many times Kurt told her Noah didn't hate her, she knew in her heart he did. How could he not? She lied to him, ran away, and spent the past few months with her ex-boyfriend, her picture all over the tabloids with him.

The car finally pulled up in front of Kurt's house, causing Rachel to look at Kurt. "I thought we were going to the dance?" she asked.

"We are, but you need to change first. Besides, my dad said you were welcome to stay with us while you're in town if you need a place to stay," he added, helping her out of the car.

Their driver carried their bags inside, then said he'd be waiting at the car to drive them to the dance when they were ready.

Kurt smiled at Rachel when they were inside, handing her the bag that contained the dress and shoes she was wearing. "Go change," he ordered as he headed to his room to get himself ready for the dance.

Rachel walked into the bathroom, staring in the mirror at her reflection. She had to admit, Kurt did a great job. She looked nice. She glanced down at the bag before shutting and locking the bathroom door.

No, she couldn't do this. She wasn't going, an no one could make her. Kurt would just have to get over the disappointment of her not wearing the dress he picked out. She just…she couldn't face Noah. Not now, not ever. He was better off without her.

She sunk to the floor of the bathroom, her back pressed against the door as she listened to the soft humming of the lights.

"Rachel?" There was a knock at the door as Kurt called her name.

"Go away, Kurt," she muttered. "I'm not going. I don't want him back," she lied. She wanted him back more than anything else in the world, but she was too much of a coward to actually go up to him and tell him that.

"Rachel Berry, stop it," Kurt ordered. "You're feeling sorry for yourself and letting your nerves win over. Please, just come out so we can go. Everything's going to be fine," he said, trying to reassure her.

"No," she said stubbornly. "It's not going to be fine. He's going to turn me down and my hearts going to break all over again. It's not worth it," she murmured, feeling tears welling in her eyes.

"Don't you dare cry and ruin your makeup," Kurt ordered. He let out a sigh as Rachel refused to move. "Here, you talk to her," he said to someone.

"Rachel?" a soft voice asked.

"Finn?"

"Look, I know you're scared and afraid this isn't going to work. But you're never going to know unless you try. Puck loves you, and you love him. You two have spent the past few months denying that you still care about each other, but I know he still loves you. And from everything Kurt's said, you still love him. So please, just come out of the bathroom," he pleaded.

There was a pause, some rustling, and a click as Rachel opened the door, wearing the dress Kurt had picked out for her, the shoes in her hand. She was smiling at Finn. "Do you mean that?" she asked. "Does he really still love me?"

"More than anything else in the world. He can't even listen to someone say your name because it hurts too much. You have to make up of He'll never be the same again."

Rachel looked between Kurt and Finn, chewing on her lower lip. "Well, what are we still doing here? We have a dance to go to!"

xxxx

Rachel could hear Artie and Sam singing the words to Chris Brown's _Yeah 3x_ while everyone cheered and danced along to the music. Rachel wasn't out with everyone else—she was in the back so no one saw her. Tina and Santana were with her at the moment since they were singing next.

This was it—she could hardly breathe she was so nervous. Rachel normally didn't get stage fright, but this was different then performing a solo at Regionals. This was more important than that. Rachel never thought anything could be more important than competitions, but Noah was. Noah was everything.

Santana was tapping her foot on the ground while Tina twisted her hands in her lap nervously. There was so much riding on their songs, they couldn't afford to screw it up.

Santana stopped in front of Rachel, looking at her. She was just standing with a blank look on her face, not showing any sign of nerves, but not looking like she was entirely with it, either.

"Look, everything's going to go great," she said, attempting to make Rachel feel a bit better about this. She couldn't say that she really liked Rachel, but she needed to make sure the girl could go out and sing—everything would go wrong if she couldn't do that.

"Kurt keeps telling me that, but I don't believe him," she said quietly.

"Well, you should. He worked his ass off setting this whole thing up. He planned the entire dance and got Figgens to okay it. And he did that all for you," she murmured as she reached over and took Rachel's hand.

Rachel looked Santana in the eyes before nodding her head and sighing. "Right, I can't let all his work be for nothing."

The music stopped and they saw the boys pass them as they headed back to the dance. "Good luck," Artie whispered.

"Yeah, break a leg, Rachel," Sam said. "Glad to have you back," he said, shooting her a smile as the two of them rushed back to the crowd as the three girls prepared to take the stage.

Tina stood up, handing Rachel her microphone. "You can do it. I believe in you," she whispered as she and Santana took the stage.

Rachel took a few breaths as the music started playing. She walked up the stairs behind the stage before walking on as she began singing, not even looking in the crowd for Puck. Kurt had decided she start with P!nk's _Please Don't Leave Me_, so she took a deep breath before singing.

Rachel glanced up before singing the chorus, spotting Puck in the crowd standing with Finn and Sam. He was staring up at her. She felt her heart skip a beat when she looked at him. Rachel had to remind herself that she had to keep performing and resisted the urge to run to him. His gaze met hers and she kept eye-contact with him as she continued singing._  
_

Every time she sang 'please don't leave me', Rachel would extend her arms towards Puck. It seemed to take him a minute, but he realized she was singing directly to him.

Rachel ignored everyone else at the dance, only seeing Puck. He needed to hear her, needed to know how sorry she was.__

As Rachel finished the song, she broke her gaze with Puck and looked at the floor of the stage, growing quiet. Everyone began cheering, not having expected her to return.

Rachel looked over at Puck, who was looking at her. His face was hard to read, but she didn't see any traces of hate on his face. That was a good sign.

She took a deep breath before looking back at Santana and Tina, nodding her head. She turned back towards Puck and mouthed 'this is for you' before the music began playing. This was it—the real apology song. Even she had to admit Kurt's choice of _Hard to Say I'm Sorry_ by Chicago was perfect. Rachel closed her eyes as she started to sing.

Rachel felt a tear fall down her face and quickly wiped it away, knowing Kurt would yell at her if she messed up her makeup. She took a deep breath before continuing. She kept her eyes on Puck, who never looked away from her.__

Fuck. She was crying over _him_. Puck saw her wipe the tear away and instantly felt bad. Even after everything that had happened between the two of them, he loved her. And seeing her up there singing directly to him just to _apologize_, he knew she loved him too. All he wanted was to hold her and kiss her until she knew he loved her as much as he did before.__

Rachel took a few deep breaths to stop from crying once she finished the song. She looked over at Kurt, who was making his way up to the stage. She handed him the microphone before carefully walking off the stage.

"This dance is ladies choice," he said before a slow ballad started playing.

Rachel looked around for Puck, but she didn't see him. Finn was supposed to bring him over to her when the song ended, but she guessed he couldn't even do that simple task.

"Look, I know it's ladies choice, but I don't want you to ask anyone else to dance."

Rachel turned around to see Puck standing there, smiling down at her, his hand extended. "Please dance with me?" he asked.

Rachel smiled a little before taking his hand, allowing him to lead her into the crowd. She placed her hands on his shoulders while he pulled her close, his arms wrapped around her waist. "So, crashing a dance? I never took you for much of a rebel," he teased. "Seems I've been a bad influence."

Rachel couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, you've been a terrible influence on me," she agreed, looking up into his eyes. She couldn't believe she'd gone three months without seeing him. She'd spoken to Kurt countless times, texted almost everyone else in New Directions, but she hadn't even sent him a message on Facebook. Yet here he was, dancing with her like nothing had ever happened.

Puck reached up, running his thumb along her cheek lightly. "You look beautiful," he whispered.

Rachel blushed, her eyes looking down at the floor.

"Please look at me?" he asked. "You forced me to go three months without being able to look into your eyes. I want to stare at them for the rest of the night," he murmured.

Rachel smiled and nodded, resting her head against his chest while she stared up at him. She knew she'd have to apologize for everything and explain what happened, but not yet. She wasn't ready to leave his arms.

The song ended and a faster one started, but Puck and Rachel continued swaying, lost in each other's eyes. The only thing that made her look away was a tap on the shoulder. She turned her head, seeing Kurt standing there with a small envelope.

"This is for you," he said, handing it to Rachel.

"What is it?" she asked, opening it to find a plastic card with the word "Marriott" printed on it.

"A gift from your fairy godfather," he laughed. "We figured you might want somewhere more private to talk things over. And I don't expect to see either of you until tomorrow at the earliest," he said with a wink.

Rachel blushed bright red before looking up at Puck. He took the hotel key out of her hand and slipped it into his pocket before taking her hand. "Let's get out of here," he whispered in her hear. Rachel followed him, holding his hand tightly.

Puck led her over to his car and opened the door for her, helping her inside. He climbed in a moment later, leaning over and kissing her full on the lips.

Rachel was caught by surprise, but kissed him back, her arms wrapped around his neck. Puck pulled her onto his lap, his arms wrapped around her small waist as he kissed her, not even bothering to pull away for a breath of air.

When Rachel finally pulled away, she was smiling, her eyes closed. "I missed you," she whispered. "I missed you so much." She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Puck hugged her back and buried his face in his hair, taking a deep breath.

"I missed this," he muttered. "I almost forgot how your hair smelled." He pulled back, looking at her. "I love you, Rachel. I don't care what happened in the past, I just want you to know I love you more than anything else."

Rachel couldn't help it—she started crying.

"Baby, please don't cry," he pleaded. He thought she'd kiss him again, not cry.

"I'm just…so happy," she said, resting her head on his chest while Puck wiped her tears away. "I thought you hated me. I wouldn't blame you if you did," she murmured.

"I thought I hated you, but I didn't. I was just mad about all that shit that went down before you left." He kissed the top of her head. "But I'm ready to hear your explanation." He helped her back into the passenger's seat before starting the car. He pulled out of the parking lot, heading towards the hotel.

**AN: Songs used are **_**Please Don't Leave Me**_** by P!nk and **_**Hard to Say I'm Sorry**_** by Chicago**


	20. Chapter 18

Puck pulled into the parking lot, still holding Rachel's hand. He'd never let it go the entire time he was driving. In fact, he kept looking over at Rachel, unable to believe she was actually here in his car. He thought she was gone forever, but here she was, sitting next to him.

He turned off the car, getting out and opening the door for Rachel before reaching into the back seat grabbed a small gym bag. "I thought Kurt was insane for telling me to bring this, but it makes sense now," he laughed, putting an arm around Rachel's shoulder.

He was still feeling a bit awkward around her. They had spent three months apart, and he'd seen pictures of her with _him_ in every magazine. He didn't want to know, but he had to: did she sleep with him?

Puck glanced down at the room number before leading himself and Rachel to room 1006. He put the key in the door before pushing it open.

Wow, they really had splurged for them. It was an actual suite—Puck had never stayed in such a nice hotel room. There was even a bottle of champagne and a plate of strawberries with whipped cream.

Rachel placed her hands on his chest once he'd shut the door and stood on her toes, kissing him once. Puck dropped the bag to the floor, his arms wrapping around her.

Rachel and Puck stood there, kissing for a few minutes before Rachel pulled away. "I owe you an apology—no, I owe you more than that. I owe you an explanation," she said, looking up at him.

Puck nodded his head. "Yes, you do. But let's get comfortable first, those shoes have to be killing your feet."

Puck lifted Rachel up and sat her on the edge of the bed. He dropped to his knees, slowly taking off her heels. She smiled down at him, a light blush coloring her cheeks. He reached into the bag, handing her an oversized tee-shirt of his along with a pair of boxers. "Here, you can change into these," he said before he stood up and kissed her forehead.

Rachel watched as he stripped out of the khaki pants and button down shirt he'd worn to the dance, pulling on a pair of gym shorts and a wife beater. Her cheeks went dark again as she looked at his chest. She'd missed seeing him practically naked in her room—well, a hotel room this time.

Puck walked over to her, chuckling as he saw she was still seated on the edge of the bed in her dress. "You're supposed to change into this so you're more comfortable," he teased, taking the clothes out of her hands before reaching around behind her back. He grasped the zipper, slowly pulling it down.

The straps of her dress fell off her shoulders and she looked up at him, biting her lower lip. "Noah…"

"Don't worry, babe. I promise nothing inappropriate tonight. It just doesn't feel right with all this shit hanging over us. I'm here to listen to you tonight." He pulled her to her feet, letting the dress fall to the floor.

Rachel pulled the boxers on while Puck slipped the shirt over her head. She pulled her arms through the sleeves before climbing into the bed, patting the spot beside her.

Puck seemed to hesitate before climbing in next to her, lying down with an arm draped over her. "You know, you look very sexy in my oversized shirt," he laughed, his hand running up and down over her stomach.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to give me a few of your shirts so I can wear them when you come over," she teased, hoping she'd get a chance to. What if he was mad after hearing her explanation?

Puck smiled a little, leaning over and kissing her cheek. All he wanted right now was to fall asleep with her in his arms, but he couldn't. Not yet. He _had_ to hear what she had to say. If he didn't hear it now, he never would.

Rachel rolled on her side, facing him on the bed. She took his one hand in hers, lacing their fingers together. "Noah, I'm so sorry," she whispered, her eyes looking away from his.

"I thought I said I wanted to see your eyes all night," he murmured, a hint of teasing to his voice. She looked back up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "Rachel, please," Puck pleaded. "Please don't cry. I don't want you to be upset." He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to him.

"I'm just…I'm so sorry for what I did," she sobbed, her head buried into his chest as her hot tears stained his shirt. "I never meant to hurt you. I was just being a selfish bitch and never even thought about what you would think," she cried, her makeup running down her face. Thank god Kurt wasn't here—he'd kick her ass.

Puck rubbed her back reassuringly, kissing the top of her head. He'd wanted to make her feel bad, lay on the guilt about what she'd done…but she was doing that herself and it was making him feel like shit. His girl shouldn't be crying about something like this. It wasn't right.

"Rachel, please stop crying," he begged, the sound of her sobs breaking his heart. "I'm not mad anymore, I promise. I forgive you. I just…I want to know what happened in Los Angeles…between you and Jesse," he whispered.

Rachel looked up, wiping her eyes. Puck couldn't help but laugh—she looked like a raccoon with her ruined makeup.

"What's so funny?" she sniffled, her eyes red from crying.

"You just look silly with your ruined makeup," he teased, kissing her lightly. "But really, I do want to hear about Los Angeles. Please, tell me everything. I can handle it," he promised, though he wasn't sure how he'd be able to handle it if she said she hooked up with St. James.

"Nothing happened between us," she said, sitting up and looking down at him. "Honest. We worked together writing the script during the day, and he took me out with his friends at night. We kissed once, but I was really drunk and pulled away as soon as I knew what I was doing. I felt like I was betraying you, even though you said you didn't want me anymore."

Puck laid there silently, taking everything in. Okay, so she'd kissed him once. That wasn't so bad, especially since he'd been reading about sleepovers in his apartment.

"I never felt anything for Jesse. He broke my heart—why would I want to be with him again after he humiliated me in the parking lot sophomore year? I thought he was the love of my life back then, but what I felt for him isn't even a fraction of what I feel for you." She reached down and took Puck's hand again. "I love you, Noah. I never stopped loving you. I thought about you every night."

Puck looked at her, a goofy smile on his face. "Really?"

"Really," she said. "Jesse knew I adored you. He's the one who planned this whole thing with Kurt. He paid for everything—the plane ticket, the dress, and I'm assuming the hotel room as well. You should be thanking him; without him, I wouldn't be here right now."

"Well, I still hate the guy for taking my girl away from me for three months," he muttered, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "I missed you so much when you were gone. I went over to your house after our fight to apologize, but some lady said you guys had moved. I thought she was full of shit, so I sat outside your house until Kurt came and told me you'd called from LA."

"Were you mad?" she asked.

"Furious," he answered. "It wasn't that you'd moved—it was that you moved and changed your number without telling me. I felt like you were cutting me out of your life. I considered taking a road trip to California to let you have it, but Sam told me how much gas would cost, so I decided on an angry Facebook message. I never actually sent it," he added.

Rachel smiled a little, snuggling close to him, her feet tangling with his under the covers. "Well, you're not mad now, right?" she asked.

"For the thousandth time, no," he laughed, his nose brushing against hers. "I have you back, we're together in a hotel room, and you still love me. Nothing could be better than this."

Rachel smiled, letting out a content sigh as the two teenagers cuddled on the bed. Of course they'd have amazing make up sex, but not now. She liked just lying in bed with him like this. Feeling his arms around her small frame was comforting.

"Rachel?"

"Yes, Noah?"

"Does this mean you're coming back to Lima, or are you just visiting?"

Rachel bit her lip. She had no idea, to be perfectly honest. It was all spur of the moment—she hadn't even talked to her dads about what was going to happen if the plan was successful. "I don't know," she finally said. "I never discussed that with anyone. I don't even know how long I'm in town for," she added.

Puck seemed to be thinking something over in his head, his one hand moving up and down her side. "Well, you're at least here through tomorrow, right?" he asked.

Rachel smiled and nodded her head. "I assume so, unless Kurt plans on whisking me back to California early tomorrow morning."

"Great. Then you can come over for dinner with my family. Ma's been begging me to invite you over since we were rescued. I think she wants to convince me you're the perfect girl to marry," he joked.

Rachel smiled, pecking his lips. "So you want to have the obligatory meeting the parents dinner?" she teased.

"Only if you're up for it," he responded, his hand continuing to move over her waist.

"Well, I suppose so. I just hope you mother doesn't hate me for corrupting her son's innocence or something like that," she said, making a face. Granted, Puck hadn't been innocent in a while, but his mother could have thought he was.

Puck let out a laugh. "You don't have to worry about it, Rachel. Ma loves you, and she's going to love that I'm finally dating a Jewish girl. We'll be lucky if she doesn't have the wedding invitations written up by the time we get there tomorrow," he joked.

"She loves me?" Rachel asked.

"Well, yeah. She's part of the reason I asked you out back during sophomore year. Well, her and a weird dream I had involving you coming through my window dressed as a Jewish angel."

"Jewish angel?"

"I'm not making sense, am I?" he asked.

Rachel shook her head. "None whatsoever. It doesn't matter—I love you even when you have gibberish coming out of that adorable mouth of yours," she teased.

Puck rolled his eyes at her, kicking her foot lightly with his under the blankets. "So does that mean you're coming?" he asked, his hand moving under her shirt and up her back.

Rachel let out an involuntary shiver. "Noah," she warned, moving closer to him on the bed. "I want to keep things PG tonight."

"My hand will stay away from your front, I promise," he said, his fingers trailing over her spine. "So can I tell Ma to count on an extra person for dinner?" he asked, his lips ghosting over hers.

"Yes, you can," Rachel whispered, her mouth inches from his. "Noah?"

"Yes?" he murmured, one leg hitched over hers as he pulled her closer.

"Can we stop talking about your mother?"

Puck let out a laugh before kissing her, seeming to answer her question. He reached over a second later, flipping off the lights in the room.

xxxxx

Rachel awoke the next morning to sore and swollen lips as well as an empty bed. She looked over at the clock, groaning when she saw it was after ten. She and Puck had stayed up past one kissing, hence the swollen lips.

Last night had been…well, it had been amazing. Rachel couldn't have dreamed up a better reunion between her and Puck.

After he flipped the lights off, the two had lied in bed for a while, just talking while Puck's hand continued moving over her back. She couldn't remember at what point she lost the shirt, but a little after midnight she'd let him move his hand from her back to her front.

After that, he'd spent the whole time exploring her body, murmuring how much he'd missed it in between kisses. Rachel finally had to stop him and insist they go to bed when his hands started pulling at the boxers she was wearing.

After slipping the shirt back on, she'd settled back in his arms and attempted to fall asleep, though her mind was still buzzing, every neuron firing rapidly as she continued feeling his hands on her.

The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was Puck murmuring in her ear how he wanted to come out to LA with her after graduation, how he wanted to be with her forever.

Rachel sat up in bed, her bottom lip in her mouth as she chewed on it. Had he been serious, or was he just rambling in his sleep like he'd done every night on the island? She wasn't sure if she wanted him in LA with her. If he came out, she'd never make it to New York.

"Baby, you up?"

Rachel's head snapped in the direction of the bathroom where she spotted Puck's muscular back in the doorway. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and she could hear the sounds of a bristle being dragged over his teeth.

She smiled, climbing out of the large bed, her wavy hair a mess from him running his fingers through it over and over. She joined him in the bathroom, picking up her toothbrush before starting to brush her teeth.

Standing there in the bathroom beside Puck, it struck her how oddly comfortable the scenario was, as if she could see herself doing this every day. She could envision a future between her and Puck. With Finn and Jesse, Rachel could never see past the next week. But with Puck, she was picturing an entire lifetime between them.

"What's on your mind?" Puck asked after spitting in the sink, wiping his mouth on a towel, looking down at her as he spoke.

Rachel shook her head before spitting into the sink and stealing the towel from him, wiping her mouth as well.

"It's nothing," she said.

"You look like you're deep in thought," he commented, leaning against the bathroom wall while his eyes scanned her petite frame, eventually coming to a stop on her face.

Rachel bit her lip, the minty taste of the residue toothpaste that lingered on her lower lip invading her mouth. "I was just thinking how comfortable this feels right now. How…how I could see myself doing this every day for the rest of my life."

"Doing what, brushing your teeth?" he asked.

"Standing next to you in the bathroom and brushing my teeth with you, waking up in a bed we shared…" She trailed off, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well, that's the plan," he said, looking away from her as he smoothed his Mohawk, examining it in the mirror.

"What's the plan?" she asked.

"You know, getting our own place and living together once we're older."

"You mean get married?" she asked, feeling her heart skip a beat.

Puck let out a laugh. "Fuck no. I said live together, not get married. I mean, do I really strike you as the marrying type, Rachel?" he asked, not even looking over at her. "Besides, after my dad left, I kind of gave up on the whole idea of marrying. It's stupid."

Rachel felt her stomach drop. He didn't want to get married. Not ever. Ever since Rachel had been a little girl, she'd always pictured her wedding day. She'd never pictured a life of living in unwedded bliss with her high school sweetheart in a cramped New York City apartment. The fact that Puck didn't want to get married…well, that would take a while for her to get over. But, she'd lost him once. She wasn't going to lose him again over something like this.

"Yeah, marriage is stupid," she agreed with a shaky voice. She could taste the lie on her tongue, but she put on a show face and attempted to make it sound convincing. She didn't want Puck knowing she wasn't okay with his future plans of them living in sin until the day they died.

Puck placed a kiss on her forehead before walking out of the bathroom, gathering up his clothes from the night before, pulling them back on. "Get dressed," he called to her. "I promised to drop you off at Kurt's before I headed back home," he said. "You can keep that on if you don't feel like putting the dress back on," he added.

Rachel nodded her head slowly, pulling her hair back in a ponytail. She wasn't even going to attempt to straighten out her appearance now. Kurt could do that once she got to his house. After all, if she was meeting her boyfriend's mother and sister, she had to look nice.

Rachel picked up her dress and heels, deciding to just walk to his car barefoot. It wasn't that far of a wlk, after all.

After checking out of the room, Puck led Rachel to his car. She climbed into the passenger's seat with ease, the dress and shoes from last night sitting in her lap.

Puck started the car and drove towards Kurt's house, both of them staying silent.

Rachel just couldn't understand how Puck never wanted to get married. She thought everyone wanted to get married. Well everyone did…just not the boy she was in love with.

Maybe she could change his mind? Right, like changing Noah Puckerman's mind was a simple task. He was almost as stubborn as her, a trait that irritated her when they were on the island.

Puck pulled into the driveway at the Hummel house, putting the car in park and turning the ignition off. "Rach?" he asked.

She turned towards him, her eyes meeting his. "Yes, Noah?" she asked.

"Is something wrong? I feel like you've been giving me the silent treatment since we left the hotel."

Damn him and his ability to read her like a book. Rachel put on a show face, smiling up at him. "No, nothing's wrong," she lied. "I'm just tired. I didn't get a lot of sleep." She unbuckled the seat belt and opened the door to the car. "So I'll see you tonight?"

"I'll pick you up at seven," he sighed, not sure what was going on with Rachel at the moment. She wasn't herself, and he didn't know why. He also knew he'd never get her to tell him why she was acting weird.

Puck gave her a quick kiss on the lips, smiling up at her as she fixed the shirt of his she was wearing. She really did look sexy in it.

"Okay, I'll see you them," she murmured quietly.

"I love you," he called after she turned her back to him.

"I love you too," she promised before disappearing inside the Hummel house.

**AN: Okay, so I'm babysitting all weekend. And by all weekend, I mean ALL weekend. So I won't have a chance to write until Sunday night at the earliest. **

**Also, I'm expecting about five more chapters plus an epilogue in this story. Reviews are love :D**


	21. Chapter 19

**AN: A big thanks to all my readers and reviewers. You all are wonderful and I wouldn't be able to do this without you. I'm still stunned that so many people actually enjoy this story. Thank you all so much!**

"…and this is Noah when he was six," Ms. Puckerman laughed, pointing to a picture in the album sitting in her lap.

Rachel covered her mouth as she giggled, looking at the picture of her boyfriend dressed in a sweater with a giant rabbit on it. "He looks adorable," she teased, looking up at him. Puck looked as if he was about to kill his mother.

"My mother knit him that for Hanukah and refused to give him any presents unless he wore it," she said, shaking her head. "I don't think he's ever forgiven her for that."

Rachel had been at Noah's house for a little over an hour, but she was feeling more and more comfortable. His mother was extremely friendly and welcoming, never making her feel weird about the fact that Rachel was dating her son.

Puck's sister, Amy, had been sitting next to Rachel on the couch, never leaving her side. The fact that her brother had brought over a nice girl who was actually talking to her was amazing.

Puck shook his head, having been forced onto the chair while Rachel was sandwiched between his mother and sister. This night was a disaster. As soon as Rachel walked into his house, his mother had instantly swooped in, pulling her into a conversation while he was left in the front room. After that, it was embarrassing stories, followed by even more embarrassing photos.

"As much as I love you showing Rachel picture of me when I was little without any clothes on, can we not?" Puck grumbled when the three girls had stopped laughing at the picture.

Rachel smiled at Noah while his mother clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Oh relax, Noah. They're just pictures."

"No, it's alright," Rachel said, trying to placate both Noah and his mother. "We have been looking at pictures for a while."

"Rachel, I want to show you my room!" Amy exclaimed, pulling Rachel to her feet. Rachel shrugged her shoulders at Puck as she was dragged down the hall and out of his sight.

Puck smiled a little. Well, at least his sister liked her.

"She's very sweet," his mother said once Rachel and Amy were out of earshot. "I can see why you like her. And she's _Jewish_."

"So you like her?" Puck asked.

"Of course I do. I've always liked Rachel and her dads. They were one of the few families at temple who helped me after your father left. You know, bringing me food and such. I'm so glad you and Rachel are actually friendly now. You know, she _is_ Jewish…"

Puck let out a groan. "Ma, I don't need you planning our wedding now. We haven't even graduated high school yet. At least wait a few years before you decide your only son should get married."

His mother laughed and held up her hands in surrender. "Alright, I promise. I won't be _that_ mother until you're out of college," she teased, walking into the kitchen to check on dinner.

Puck took his mother's distraction as a chance to make his escape and avoid more conversation with her concerning Rachel and a potential future with her. He knew what his mother wanted, and he knew what he wanted—he just didn't know how they'd ever come to an understanding when she wanted him to get married and he had no plans of ever marrying.

And Rachel…well, he had no idea what she wanted. He wasn't going to ask—not yet, anyways. They were still kids. Besides, he'd told her he didn't want to get married and she seemed okay with it. That meant they were on the same page…right?

Puck stopped at the doorway of his sister's room, spotting Rachel on Amy's bed, a scarf in her hands while her eyes were focused on Amy's closet.

"Okay, tell me what you think about this one!" his sister shouted, strutting out a moment later dressed in a sequined dress and heels.

Puck let out a laugh, seeing his sister strike a ridiculous pose. She fixed a glare on him. "Noah, you can't be in here! I'm modeling dresses for the dance for Rachel. She has to pick what I'm going to wear so Jake Phillips asks me to dance!" she whined.

Puck shook his head. "I don't know how I feel about my girlfriend picking out a dress for my sister to wear to a dance so she can get a date," he teased.

Amy stuck her tongue out at him while Rachel tossed a pillow in his general direction. It hit his head lightly.

"Oh, you're dead," Puck growled playfully, running over and tackling Rachel onto his sister's bed, tickling her.

"Noah…stop!" she giggled, trying to push his hands away. "I'm extremely ticklish!" she laughed, writhing on the bed beneath him.

"Amy, come help me tickle Rachel," Puck laughed. "I bet we can get her to squeal like a little pig," he teased.

Amy laughed, jumping on the bed and started tickling Rachel's ribs.

Rachel let out a snort as she started laughing more, causing Puck to laugh. "You snort when you laugh?" he teased. "Looks like I keep learning more new things about you every day."

The two Puckerman siblings continued tickling her until Rachel was giggling, squealing, and thrashing so wildly that Ms. Puckerman came into the room, shaking her head a little. "What are you two doing to poor Rachel? I thought she was being murdered in here."

"We're just tickling her, Ma," Amy laughed, lying beside Rachel after she and Puck stopped tickling her. Rachel was panting, trying to catch her breath as her chest moved up and down rapidly.

"I hate you," she mouthed to Puck, a smile still on her lips. Puck smirked at her, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Well, dinner's ready. Why don't you all come into the kitchen. Unless you want to starve, that is."

"Yay, dinner!" Amy shouted, jumping off the bed and running down the hall towards the kitchen.

Puck slipped his hand into Rachel's, smiling down at her as the two slowly made their way down the hall. "Sorry for abandoning you with Amy," he whispered into her ear.

"Don't be. She's a sweet girl," Rachel promised. "I like her," she said, her eyes now showing any indication she was lying. Puck grinned, putting an arm around her shoulder and holding her close as they walked into the kitchen, Rachel sitting on one side of Amy while Puck sat across the table from them.

Puck's mother walked into the kitchen, carrying a plate of something that smelled good. "Ta da! Salmon!" she said, putting the platter of fish on the table. Rachel's face paled at the sight of the food. She was actually hungry, and his mom had made something she wouldn't eat. Had Puck even bothered telling his mother she was a vegan?

Puck let out a groan. "Ma, I told you Rachel was a vegan."

"Right, I didn't make any meat. This is fish."

Puck groaned again. "Vegan means she doesn't eat any animal products—that includes fish!" he practically yelled. He couldn't believe his mother made something his girlfriend couldn't eat after she invited her over for dinner.

Ms. Puckerman looked visibly embarrassed. "Oh," was all she said.

Rachel shifted uncomfortably, not liking that Puck and his mom were arguing over her. "It's okay," Rachel finally said. "It's not a big deal. I'll just eat salad," she said, feeling her stomach growl. She'd just eat something at home.

Puck shook his head. "No you won't. I'm not having you sit here hungry because my mom fucked up and made you something you can't eat." He took her hand, pulling her to her feet. "I'm going to take Rachel out for something to eat," Puck said angrily, pulling her out of the kitchen.

Rachel cast an apologetic look to Puck's mother and sister as she disappeared from their sight. The door slammed a moment later as Puck and Rachel left the house.

"Jesus, of all the stupid things she could do!" Puck ranted once they were in his car, driving away from his house. "I'm so sorry, Rachel. I expressively told her you were a vegan so don't make anything with meat. I guess she thought fish was okay." He let out a few choice words as they came to a stop light, Rachel placing a hand on his arm.

"Please calm down?" she asked. "I'm not mad, so you shouldn't be either."

"But she's making me look bad!" he shouted. "All I wanted was to have a nice dinner and for you to like my family. She had to go and fuck it all up!"

Rachel smiled a little, glad to know how much he cared about making a good impression on her. "I loved you mom and sister. They were so nice to me," she added.

"Yeah, well I still can't believe she made you fucking _fish_!" he yelled, punching the steering wheel.

"Noah, please calm down," Rachel said softly. And he did. He relaxed a little as he kept driving, eventually pulling into the parking lot of the local Denny's.

"Noah, what are we doing here?" Rachel asked, leaning her head back against the seat.

"I told you, I'm taking you out to get something to eat. Now I don't have a lot of money, so this is really the best I can afford at the moment," he said, leaning over and kissing her lightly.

Rachel smiled, kissing him back. "Alright. But I'm paying," she added, climbing out of the car without giving him a chance to object.

Puck let out a groan, following her and taking her hand. He didn't bother trying to change her mind—Rachel was notoriously stubborn, after all.

The two teenagers walked into the diner, finding it mostly empty. They were seated right away at a booth and given menus, the waitress promising to be back after a minute.

Puck played with Rachel's feet under the table, one leg wrapped around hers. Rachel smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder as she looked over the menu, finding a few things she could potentially order.

Puck leaned down, kissing her once. It was nice having this privacy, even if they were in a booth at Denny's. Puck placed a hand on her thigh and squeezed it once as the waitress came over, ready to take their orders. Puck ordered the bacon burger with a coke while Rachel ordered a veggie burger and a sprite.

The waitress nodded, taking their menus and walking away, leaving the two of them alone. "So tell me about the movie," Puck finally said, wanting to know about it.

"Well, we just wrote the script. It's actually pretty good—I made sure Jesse was faithful to what you were actually like," she assured. "We're waiting to hear back and see if the studio likes it before they start casting and such. Jesse is hoping to film starting in the summer."

"So you'll be going back to LA?" he asked. "What about school?"

"Well, I don't know yet," she admitted. "It depends if I decide to do this movie."

"Decide to? Rachel, you have to," Puck said. He hadn't been okay with it at first, but now he was. For Rachel's sake he was. "I want you to do this. This is your chance to become something. I'm not going to stand in your way of that," he said, kissing her cheek.

"Really?" she asked, running her fingers over his knee lightly.

"Yes, really," he promised. "Just make sure they don't get some asshole to play me," he laughed.

"I will," she said, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck. Puck buried his face in her hair, inhaling as they waited for the food to come.

"I love you," he murmured, his one hand running up and down her back.

Rachel smiled a little, loving it when he told her that. "And I love you," she promised, kissing his lower lip once.

Their food came out shortly after that, ceasing conversation as both of them ate their late dinners, glad to have some food in their stomach. When they were good and done, Rachel paid the bill, taking Puck's hand and lead him out of the restaurant to the car.

It had started snowing, causing Rachel to laugh, trying to catch a snowflake on her tongue. Puck shook his head. "You're acting like your five," he teased, coming behind her and wrapping his arms around her middle.

"It's snowing. The whole point of snow is to make you feel like you're a little kid again," she teased, turning around in his arms and rested her hands on his shoulders. She stood on her toes, pressing her lips to his.

Puck smiled, lifting her up off the ground and kissed her back. His one hand moved to the side of her face, cupping her cheek as he lowered her back to the ground, his lips still moving against hers.

Rachel's tongue grazed over Puck's lips, eventually pushing its way through them and into his mouth, finding his tongue waiting there. Puck moved his tongue with hers, tilting her head to the side as he deepened their kiss, his arms wrapped tightly around her small body.

Rachel only pulled away then she started to shiver, her body cold from the dropping temperature. Puck smiled down at her, hugging her tightly. "Come on, I'll get you back to Hummel's house," he promised.

Rachel nodded, dusting the snow out of her hair before climbing into the front seat of Puck's car, buckling her seat belt before he started the car and drove away from Denny's.

Rachel held Puck's hand again as he drove, feeling so lucky to have someone like him in her life. She was just glad everything was back to normal now. She had her boyfriend, her best friend, and she was even back in her hometown.

Puck stopped the car outside Kurt's house, looking at Rachel as he turned the engine off. "Before you go, I have something for you," he said, reaching inside his pocket and withdrawing a small wrapped box. "Happy Hanukah, Rachel," he murmured.

Rachel smiled a little, turning the box over in her hands. "I don't have anything for you," she admitted.

"I don't care. You don't have to get me anything," he promised. "Go on, open it."

Rachel carefully tore away the wrapping paper, pulling out a small velvet jewelry box. She flipped open the lid, looking down at the necklace. It was a Star of David on a gold chain, encrusted with diamonds and amethyst, her birthstone.

"It's beautiful," she whispered. "But how did you afford it?" she asked. This had to be expensive, and she knew he didn't have a lot of money.

"I used all the money I got from cleaning pools this summer to pay for it." Rachel's' face fell. "Don't feel bad," he added, seeing her face. "It was worth it. Let me put it on."

Puck took the necklace from Rachel, his hand brushing over her neck as he put the necklace on her. He kissed the back of her neck a few times before pulling away.

Rachel smiled up at him, kissing him a few times on the lips. "Thank you. I love it."

Puck wrapped his arms around Rachel, the two of them just sitting in the car in silence. "Happy Hanukah, Rachel."

"Happy Hanukah, Noah."


	22. Chapter 20

**AN: In response to the one review about veggie burgers and buns not being vegan, I'm actually a former vegan and know for a fact that the veggie burger at Denny's **_**IS**_** vegan. My ex-boyfriend took me there once and I made sure it was vegan before ordering it. However, you are right about half the breads and veggie burgers out there not being vegan—why do you think I stopped being a vegan?**

Rachel moved back to Lima after the holidays. Puck was stunned when she walked up to him before homeroom after New Year's, books in her hands.

She rejoined New Directions like nothing had ever happened, and everyone was glad to have her—they'd just barely won sectionals, after all. With her, they'd win Regionals for sure.

Weeks went by, everyone worrying about college applications and graduating. For once, Rachel wasn't freaking out. She'd put off college for a year to do Jesse's movie, the apartment in LA ready for her once school let out.

At first, Puck tried to convince her to let him come with her. He'd be her assistant and get everything she wanted. Then, they'd move to New York together, him working while she was in school.

But Rachel wasn't having it. He wasn't going to work for her while she was becoming an actress. She even threatened to break up with him (a threat she had no intention of carrying through with) if he followed her to Los Angeles.

So instead, Puck sent in a few applications to schools on the west coast. If Rachel was going to be in California, he at least wanted to be in the same time zone as her. And when he got accepted to San Francisco State University, he saw a look on Rachel's face that's he'd never seen before—one that said she was proud of him.

The day Puck got accepted to college, he went out for dinner with his mom and sister, promising to call Rachel when he got home. Ever since the disastrous dinner at his house, Rachel seemed to keep her distance from his mother. She still talked with Amy—the two had a weekly Skype date—but she avoided his mother. Rachel told him it was because she didn't want his mother to feel embarrassed about her faux pas.

While Puck was at dinner, celebrating a day his mother never thought would come, Rachel was in her room with Kurt, the two of them having their own celebration.

"Let me see the letter again," she laughed, placing another scoop of vegan ice cream into her bowl.

"Give me the ice cream first," Kurt demanded. "I plan on framing this, and I don't want your sticky fingerprints all over it." Rachel sighed, handing him her bowl before he handed her the piece of paper in his hand.

"Dear Mr. Hummel," she read, her eyes scanning over the letter. "We would like to offer you admission to the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University for this coming fall. Enclosed you will find information regarding orientation…" she trailed off, only caring about the first sentence. "I hope you know how jealous of you I am. You got into fucking _Tisch_. They only take the best."

"I know!" Kurt laughed, taking a bite out of Rachel's bowl. "I'm still in shock. I keep expecting to wake up and this all be a dream, but it hasn't happened yet."

"What did Blaine say?" she asked. Kurt's boyfriend was a junior, and Kurt moving to New York in the fall was going to be hard on the young couple.

"We agreed to take it one day at a time. It isn't going to be easy, but we're going to try. He's applying in New York for next year so we can be together again."

Rachel smiled a little, handing him back the letter. "Well, I hope it works out."

"What about you and Puckerman? San Francisco to LA is almost 400 miles. How are you two going to work that out?"

"We'll call and text. Besides, I'm going to be busy with the movie and he's going to be busy with school. But we'll visit every once in a while and we'll see each other at the holidays. I don't know what he's going to do when I move to New York," she added, biting her lip.

"What are you talking about?" Kurt asked, staring at the ceiling from her floor. That was the nice thing about being best friends with someone who was gay—her dads never had an issue with Kurt spending the night. Noah, on the other hand, was a whole other issue.

"I'm just putting off college for a year. I plan on being in New York with you next year," she said. "I know he's expecting me to come to San Francisco with him, but I just know New York is where I'm meant to be."

"And I'm assuming one Mr. Noah Puckerman doesn't know of these plans of yours?"

Rachel shook her head.

Kurt let out a sigh. "Rachel, it's this movie all over again. The longer you keep this from him, the madder he'll be that you lied and you two will end up broken up and pissed at each other. I'm not being in the middle again!" he declared.

Rachel made a face. "Okay, I'll tell him. But I'm going to wait a little. He deserves the chance to be excited about his acceptance. I'm just glad he's not going to end up cleaning pools for the rest of his life," she laughed.

The whole next week, Rachel tried to find the right moment to tell Noah of her future plans—the ones that involved her moving to New York instead of joining him in Northern California.

She finally found the right moment Wednesday after lunch. Rachel and Puck had started eating lunch together after her return from California. Normally, they sat with Kurt and Blaine, but Kurt was out sick and Blaine was spending the hour in the library studying. So, it was just Rachel and Puck.

"So, I was thinking after this movie is done and you're finally free, you come up to San Francisco and stay there. We'll get an apartment together until I finish school, then we'll move wherever you want to, me working so you don't have to."

Rachel placed her hand on top of Puck's, sighing. "Noah, we have to talk about this." She bit her lip nervously, not sure how to put it.

Puck knew his girlfriend well. He knew her biting her lip meant she was nervous or didn't know how to say something. Or both. "You don't want to come to San Francisco," he said, his eyes falling on her.

Rachel shook her head slowly. "No, not really," she admitted in a small voice. "I want to go to New York. After the movie wraps, I'm going to apply to schools there and move there with Kurt. I just…I know New York is where I'm meant to be."

Puck nodded his head, trying to hide his disappointment at the fact that his girlfriend wanted to move further away from him, not closer. Instead of being 400 miles away, she'd be almost 3,000 miles.

"I guess I knew it was a long shot. I know you want to be in New York. And I'm not going to try and stop you. I'm just going to do my hardest to try and convince you to stay in California with me," he warned.

Rachel laughed a little, shaking her head slightly at him. "You're hopeless, I hope you know," she teased, kissing his nose once.

xxxxx

Regionals.

It was finally here. After weeks and weeks of training, the New Directions was at Regionals, going against Aural Intensity and Vocal Adrenaline, just like Rachel's sophomore year. Though this year The Dalton Academy Warblers were also going against them.

She just hoped the outcome this year would be different—last time they hadn't even placed. They'd come in dead last.

New Directions was performing last this time, so the whole group was seated in the audience, watching Aural Intensity perform their rendition of "One Day More" from the musical _Les Miserables_. It was okay in Rachel's opinion, but she was confident they could beat them with what they had prepared.

They finished up with a mash up of _Edge of Glory/Marry the Night_, both by Lady Gaga. They sounded good together, but the girl singing the solo parts didn't have a strong enough voice for it in Rachel's opinion. The crowd seemed to like it, worrying Rachel a bit.

Rachel tensed a bit in her seat as Vocal Adrenaline came to the stage. This was her first time seeing them perform after Jesse had left. She hadn't seen them at Nationals the year before due to her miraculously surviving a deadly plane crash with the boy sitting next to her who had her hand in his.

They seemed to have found a new "Jesse" for their ground. He even kind of looked like Jesse, though his hair wasn't arranged quite as well as Jesse's and he was a bit shorter.

The boys wore bright green shirts with black pants, green stripes running down the side of them. The girls were in matching green and black polka dot dresses. They were ugly in Rachel's mind, but maybe everyone else thought different.

Kurt, who was seated on Rachel's other side, leaned over to her, whispering before they group began singing. "Ugly outfits, don't you think?"

Rachel covered her mouth to suppress a giggle, nodding her head in agreement. "Jesse would have never agreed to perform in those. They look like they've gone downhill since he left," she whispered before the new lead singer opened his mouth and began singing.

Rachel covered her mouth to stop from laughing. They were doing Journey songs, just like New Directions had done last time when they lost to Vocal Adrenaline. Puck squeezed Rachel's thigh, trying to tell her to be quiet.

"They're doing Journey. Guess they're really struggling without Shelby as their couch anymore," Kurt whispered, Rachel nodding in agreement.

It was almost a mirrored performance of theirs from two years ago, them even finishing with _Don't Stop Believing_.

"Where was their Broadway song?" Puck asked quietly as Vocal Adrenaline cleared the stage and New Directions left the auditorium to get ready to go on while the Warblers took the stage.

"It was Don't Stop Believing," Rachel explained, lacing their fingers together as they walked out the doors and headed to the dressing room backstage. "It's from the musical _Rock of Ages_."

Part of the requirements this year was to perform a song from a Broadway musical as one of the group's numbers. Rachel was performing the one for New Directions.

"They're performance was a bit of a rip off of ours from two years ago," he murmured into her ear, letting go of her hand as he wrapped an arm around her middle.

"I know, except our performance was better than theirs," she laughed, kissing him once before heading into the girl's dressing area while he headed to the boy's with Finn.

The girls had all done their hair and makeup before leaving for Regionals, so all they had to do was change into their dresses.

Rachel pulled the dress out of the garment bag, pulling her skirt and blouse off. She looked over the dress, smiling at it. It was silver with a full skirt and a blue ribbon wrapped around the middle. The boys were wearing all black with blue and silver ties to match the girls' dresses.

Rachel pulled on the dress and strapped on her blue shoes, taking a deep breath. She was going on first, doing a solo number.

The girls joined the guys as the Warblers finished their performance. There was a short break after that while the stage hands set up the stage for New Directions.

"Are you nervous?" Puck asked, sitting down on a crate with Rachel in his arms.

Rachel shook her head. "Of course not. I was born to perform." Puck could tell she wasn't being entirely truthful—she was chewing on her lip. He didn't bring it up, however. He never knew how nervous Rachel would react.

Instead, he kissed her cheek, wrapping his arms around her middle tighter. "You're going to do great, Baby. I believe in you," he whispered as the stage hands walked off the stage. "Break a leg," he muttered before giving her a small push towards the stage, giving her a wave when she looked back at him.

Rachel closed her eyes and took a deep breath before walking onto the stage. Despite what she had told Puck, she _was _nervous. The last time she had performed publically like this was Regionals last year. She'd never had the chance to perform at Nationals, after all.

Rachel walked up to the microphone stand, standing in front of it with her eyes closed, taking a few breaths. She opened her eyes, staring out at the sea of people watching her. Oddly, that seemed to comfort her.

She swallowed as the music started playing. She smiled as the familiar melody to "Climb Every Mountain" from _The Sound of Music _started playing. Rachel had sung the song countless of times in her basement and her room. She just pretended she was there again and her nerves slowly disappeared.

The normal confidence Rachel felt while performing started to return. She smiled as she started singing the song, looking to the side where she saw Puck watching her. She made eye contact with him and sang to him for a moment before turning her attention back to the audience.

The girls from New Directions joined her on stage, serving as her backup during the chorus of the song. She smiled at the audience, pulling them into her performance.

Rachel finished the song, belting out the last note and holding it until the music stopped. She took a few breaths before speaking into the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, New Directions," she introduced as the boys joined them onstage.

Mercedes handed Rachel a headset microphone, which she slipped on before the next song started. The group immediately went into their rendition of The Killer's song "When You Were Young", Rachel and Finn singing lead like usual. After all, that had worked for them in the past—there was no reason for them to change it up at competition.

For the past few months, they'd been working on new dance moves, which they showcased now. The boys did daring lifts with the girls. Rachel just prayed Finn didn't drop her as he lifted her up, her leaning back just like they'd practiced for weeks.

The song ended and they went straight into their last number, "Take Me Home Tonight" by Eddie Money. Puck, Sam, and Finn sang the lead on the last sing, the rest of them adding backup vocals.

This time, Rachel had requested to be partnered with Puck for dancing, which Mr. Schuester had agreed to. While he was singing, Puck was swinging Rachel around his body, a move the other guys were copying with their partners.

When they finished, the entire auditorium rose to their feet, giving them a standing ovation. Rachel grinned, squeezing Puck's hand tightly. When the curtains closed, he bent down and kissed her on the lips. "You were wonderful," he breathed once they broke apart.

"So were you," she complimented. "It's too bad we're graduating soon—you should get solos more often," she laughed.

Puck smiled, shaking his head a little, kissing her forehead. "I don't need solos. Just as long as Hudson doesn't get too handsy with you when you're dancing," he teased.

Rachel laughed a little. "He doesn't, he's a perfect gentleman," she promised. "You don't have anything to worry about with him anymore."

"Yeah, I suppose he's mellowed out a bit. I don't know if he's totally okay with us, but he seems really happy now that he's officially back with Quinn."

Rachel nodded. "Yes, and since Jesse helped me get back with you instead of trying to win me back, I don't think we have anything to worry about anymore. Well, except winning this and going to Nationals."

Puck took a seat, pulling Rachel onto his lap. "If we don't win, it's a travesty," he said, kissing the side of her neck.

Rachel giggled a little, tilting her head to the side a little, giving him more space to kiss.

Puck continued kissing up her neck slowly, his hands running over her stomach. "I suppose now would be the best time to ask you to come to the prom with me."

Rachel froze, his lips still moving over her skin. "Are you sure?" she asked. She knew prom wasn't really Noah's thing.

"Positive. I'm not going to let my girl stay home on the night of her senior prom. You only get one, after all. And I promise to make it memorable for you—memorable in a good way," he added.

Rachel smiled before shaking her head. "No, we're not going to go. You took me to the winter dance. That's all I need. It's time for me to do something _you_ want to do. We'll go to the movies, or you can come over and spend the night at my house instead. Now come on, they're going to announce the winner's soon. We need to get on stage," she laughed.

Puck smiled, getting up and taking her hand. New Directions, along with Vocal Adrenaline, Aural Intensity, and The Warblers, all headed onto the stage as the judges walked up to the stage.

The trophies were on stage and Rachel looked at them with excitement. This was it—the moment they were waiting for.

"We'd like to announce the winners," the one judge said, holding up an envelope. "Fourth place goes to…Westville High's Aural Intensity!" The audience clapped politely while the members of Aural Intensity looked visibly disappointed.

The other judge handed them a small trophy, congratulating them.

"This place goes to the Dalton Academy Warblers!" the judge shouted. There was cheering and clapping as they were handed a trophy. Blaine gave one of the members, an old friend of his, thumbs up.

A third judge took the envelope, reading the rest of what was written. "This year's second place is…Carmel High's Vocal Adrenaline!"

Vocal Adrenaline looked very disappointed, but Rachel was practically shaking. They'd won! They were going to Nationals again!

"…which means this year's winners are McKinley High's New Directions!"

Rachel cheered, running up to the judge with Finn, taking the trophy and bringing it back to the group. "We won!" she was shouting, jumping up and down.

Puck lifted her up into his arms, kissing her cheek and hugged her tightly. At that moment, Rachel was on top of the world. She couldn't feel happier than she did at that moment right then.

**Songs used: **

**Climb Every Mountain-The Sound of Music**

**One Day More-Les Miserables**

**Marry the Night-Lady Gaga**

**Edge of Glory-Lady Gaga**

**When You Were Young-The Killers**

**Take Me Home Tonight-Eddie Money (I prefer the cover by Every Avenue)**


	23. Chapter 21

**AN: Ahh, thank you to one of my reviewers for pointing out I had previously named Puck's sister. I totally forgot—that's what happens when you don't work on a story for a year. Sorry about that confusion—if I mention her again, I'm just going to keep calling her Amy. **

"You can't just _not_ go to prom," Kurt explained as he and Rachel walked down the hall, heading towards math. "It's a rite of passage or some bullshit like that. I refuse to let you sit at home with your boyfriend."

"Look, I'm not nominated for prom queen, Noah isn't nominated for prom king, and I really don't want to go. Why is this such a big deal to you?" she asked.

"Because it's prom!" he exclaimed. Prom was a week away, and Kurt almost had a stroke when he asked Rachel what she was wearing and she told him she didn't have a dress.

"But I've been to prom once. That's good enough for me. Noah and I were going to just hang out at my house. My dads are out of town all weekend so we have the house to ourselves…"

Kurt plugged his ears. "No no no I do _not_ want to hear how many places you're going to have sex this weekend."

Rachel turned scarlet. "I wasn't planning on telling you in the first place," she mumbled. "But it's going to be the first time we have any extended period to spend together. I mean, we've only been able to see each other out of school for an hour or so before we get interrupted by my dads, his mom, or Amy."

"What about his mom? Won't she be suspicious about her only son missing all weekend?"

"No," Rachel said, shaking her head. "His mom's on some mother-daughter trip with Amy a few hours away. They don't get back until Sunday night, just likes my dads." Rachel was practically grinning from ear to ear.

"Well, I still think you should come to prom," Kurt muttered as they walked into the room, taking their usual seats next to one another. "Though I'm still wondering why Blaine hasn't asked me to go yet."

"I figured it's implied if you're in a relationship," she said, giving him a look. "Maybe he assumes he doesn't have to ask you."

"Of course he has to ask me. Prom proposal is half of the whole prom experience!" Kurt exclaimed with a scandalized expression on his face.

Mr. Thompson, their teacher, shushed them before turning on the overhead projector and began his lesson.

Rachel was doodling on her paper, half paying attention to the lesson when the front door opened and Blaine walked in. He wasn't supposed to be there—he was in junior level math, not senior like her and Kurt.

"Mr. Anderson, you're not due here until seventh period," Mr. Thompson said, glancing up from his lecture about limits.

"I know, but this couldn't wait. I promise it won't take long," he said, giving the teacher pleading eyes.

Mr. Thompson sighed a little before nodding. "Go ahead and make it quick."

Blaine nodded before a few of the members of the Cheerios walked in, placing a boom box on the desk and started to dance while "Take a Chance on Me" by ABBA played with Blaine singing. He produced a bouquet of flowers as he danced towards Kurt's desk.

Kurt was blushing as Blaine handed him the flowers and the music died down. "Kurt Hummel?" he asked.

"Yes?" Kurt was clearly enjoying the attention as well as feeling embarrassed with Blaine's very public prom proposal.

"Will you do the honor of going to prom with me?" he asked, grinning.

Kurt smiled, nodding his head. "Of course I will," he said before hugging his boyfriend while the whole class applauded. Blaine took a bow before thanking Mr. Thompson and leaving the room. The lesson resumed shortly after that.

Rachel began thinking as she sat, listening to properties of limits in the background. Blaine put a lot of effort into asking Kurt to prom. Come to think of it, almost everyone at the school did.

Finn had set up a whole scene in the gym for Quinn, getting the whole glee club to help him out. Mike had worn a shirt to school to ask Tina.

But Puck? He'd just sat Rachel on his lap and casually asked her while they were sitting backstage at Nationals. Did he not care about her enough to put a lot of thought into asking her? Or did he just not care?

Well, it didn't matter. They weren't going to the dance, so who cared about how he asked her.

But she still _did _care about how he asked her. Everyone else's boyfriends asked them in creative and daring ways, but hers just asked her in an afterthought.

They were dismissed shortly after, Rachel bidding Kurt goodbye as she headed to her locker before lunch.

Like usual, Noah was waiting there for her. He had English while she had math. And since he never went to English, he was always able to beat her to her locker.

Rachel smiled up at him, glad to know that her heart still skipped a beat whenever she saw him leaning against her locker, knowing he was waiting just for her.

"Hey," she greeted, standing on her toes and kissed his cheek. "How was English?" she asked. She always asked and always got the same answer from him.

"Didn't go. I broke into the vending machine instead and got a snack," he smirked.

Rachel shook her head a little. "You're not going to graduate if you keep skipping class," she warned.

"Yes I will. I go sometimes," he protested.

"You haven't been once this week," she sighed. "If you don't graduate, we're going to be even further away from each other next year. LA and San Francisco are far, but Lima and LA are even further," she reminded him.

Rachel pulled her locker open forcefully, hitting him in the arm accidentally.

"Whoa," he complained, picking up on her mood. "What's got your panties in a bunch?" Rachel gave him an irritated look. "Sorry," he muttered.

Rachel sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I was just thinking during math. I shouldn't have taken it out on you." She grabbed her lunch, putting her books away and shut her locker.

Noah took her lunch bag while she took his arm, the two of them heading towards the cafeteria. "What were you thinking about?" he asked, loving that she wanted to hold his arm when they walked. It showed the whole school that Rachel Berry was _his_, not anyone else's.

There was a time when he would have never wanted to walk down the hall and publically show they were dating, but he didn't care anymore. He loved her and wasn't afraid to admit it. Besides, the entire world had seen pictures of them cuddling on a hospital bed. This was nothing compared to that.

"Nothing," she murmured, her cheeks turning red. She didn't want to tell him she was doubting his devotion to their relationship because of how he asked her to the prom they were skipping. She'd sound more neurotic than she already was.

Puck stopped, standing in front of her and holding onto her shoulders, looking down at her. "Tell me," he demanded.

Rachel looked up into his eyes, knowing there was no way she could deny him what he wanted when he was looking at her like that.

"I was just…Blaine asked Kurt to prom last period—"

"I heard," Puck interrupted. "He had some of the Cheerios help, right?"

Rachel nodded her head. "Yeah." She hesitated, not sure how to bring it up. "Why didn't you ask me in a really special way? Everyone else asked their girlfriends in really public ways. Everyone except you, I mean."

Puck frowned. Why the hell did this matter? They weren't even going to the damn dance, so who cared how he asked her? But he could see in Rachel's face that she was serious. Sometimes, he just didn't get girls.

"I wasn't aware I needed to make a big deal out of it. It's just a dance," he muttered as they walked into the cafeteria, finding Kurt and Blaine already seated at their normal table, Rachel and Noah's seats waiting for them.

"Why not? All your friend's did. Besides, hasn't knowing me taught you anything? I like it when people make a big deal out of things."

"Like you're making a big deal out about this," he shot back. "We're not even going to the damn dance, Rachel. _Why_ does it matter now how I asked you to the stupid thing?"

"Because it shows you don't care about me enough to put some fucking effort into the thing!" she hissed, pulling away from him.

Seriously? She was mad about how he asked her to a fucking dance? "You're such a drama queen," he muttered, walking next to her as they approached the table, taking their seats.

"You two look tense," Kurt commented, looking with disgust at the school lunch he'd purchased. "Blaine, remind me why I bought this."

"Because I said you needed to be more adventurous and you decided being adventurous was buying lunch instead of bringing your typical spread of cheese, crackers, and fruit."

"Right," he said with a nod. "But seriously, why the tense faces?"

"Prom," Puck spat, not even wanting to talk about this dance anymore. Thank god they weren't going—it'd be even more of a nightmare than it already was.

"Oh, goodie!" Kurt said, clapping his hands/ "You've decided to go! Rachel, we'll have to go dress shopping after school. I was thinking blue si—"

Rachel shook her head, holding her hand up to stop him before he really got on a roll. "No, we're still not going," she said softly.

"Does it really matter how a guy asks his girlfriend to the prom? I mean, it's just a dance," Puck asked, looking to Blaine and Kurt for support.

"Oh, totally," Kurt said. "I mean, if he just half-asses it, he doesn't really care. The more effort he puts into it shows how much effort he's going to put into the relationship."

"I wouldn't go that far, Kurt," Blaine added. "Though I think there should be some effort and creativity put into it instead of just asking the girl—or guy—in the middle of hooking up."

"Which is basically what you did," Rachel shot at Puck. She let out an irritated sigh, shaking her head. She stood up, grabbing her lunch. "I'm going to sit with Mercedes and Tina for today. I'll see you in rehearsal," she said to Kurt and Blaine, ignoring Puck completely.

The three boys watched her walk away before Kurt and Blaine turned to Puck. "What exactly did you do to her to get her so mad?" Kurt laughed.

"I have no idea. She's pissed I didn't ask her to prom in a more amazing way. I don't see why it matters—she doesn't even want to go to the damn thing."

Kurt shook his head. "This is all your fault," he teased Blaine. "I think she's just jealous everyone got these amazing prom proposals and she didn't. You know Rachel—she likes having the best of things."

Puck sighed. "How do I make this right?

"Let her cool down," Blaine suggested. Kurt nodded in agreement. "She just needs to relax. She'll come to you in a few days after she has time to think about how ridiculous she's being."

Friday night, Rachel finally called Puck. Everyone had already left for the prom, and she was left alone in her house.

Kurt had stopped by before leaving for the prom with Blaine, dropping off a blue silk dress. "Just in case," he told her before giving her a hug and leaving.

"Noah?" she murmured into the phone, sitting in her room, feeling very lonely.

"Baby?"

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I was being silly. I know you love me. You saved my life. As far as I'm concerned, that counts as every prom proposal you ever want to give me. Are you still coming over?" she asked.

Puck smiled on his end. "Apology accepted. I'll be over in ten minutes," he promised.

Twelve minutes later, there was a knock on the front door. Rachel pulled it open, seeing her boyfriend standing there, the same goofy smile he always wore on his face.

"You're late," she teased, pulling him inside the house. Puck laughed, his arms wrapping around her waist. He kissed her once, lifting her off the ground and into his arms.

Rachel let out giggle as he carried her over to the couch, her legs wrapped around his waist. Puck kissed her again, taking a seat on her couch with her on his lap.

"Don't do that again," he whispered.

"Do what?" she asked, looking at him, her hands running over his cheeks lightly.

"Scare me by not talking to me for days. I thought you were really mad," he muttered, resting his head against her chest.

Rachel smiled, running her fingers through his Mohawk. "I should have called earlier, but I didn't know how to apologize for being a psycho," she admitted. Puck let out a laugh, rubbing her back gently.

Puck pulled his head back, looking up at her. "Are we going to fuck or are we just going to watch a movie while I feel you up?" he teased.

Rachel's face went red, causing him to laugh again. "Let's just watch a movie for now," she murmured, climbing off his lap and grabbing her copy of _Moulin Rouge_, putting it into the DVD player and hitting play.

Puck laid down on the couch, leaving enough room for her to lay down beside him and in his arms. Rachel climbed onto the couch, settling beside him as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Rachel paid attention to the movie—it was one of her favorites, after all. Puck, however, only paid attention to Rachel. He slowly kissed up her neck, his hands running wild over her stomach. At one point, he started tugging at her shirt, getting it over her bra while still keeping it on her body.

Puck ran his hands over her bra, shifting their positions slightly so he was hovering over her instead of lying next to her.

Rachel, ignoring the movie at this point, looked up at him, her mouth not moving for once in her life. With one swift movement, Puck pulled her shirt off her body and dropped it on the floor, leaving her in her bra and skirt.

Rachel let out a shaky breath, swallowing once as his hands lowered themselves onto her body again, one hand running up her body and grazing the underwire of her bra while the other moved down, sliding under the waist of her skirt and into her panties.

Rachel squirmed beneath him, letting out a groan as his fingers ghosted over her sensitive area. "Noah," she moaned, spreading her legs slightly for him—well, as much as she could with her body still constricted by her skirt.

Puck lowered his head, starting to slowly suck on her neck. He reached back, undoing her bra with one hand, letting it fall off her body. He reached his hand around, grabbing on breast while the fingers on his other hand continued to run over her.

"Jesus Rachel, you're so fucking wet," he commented, pushing apart her folds before finding her entrance. Without even a warning, he pushed two fingers inside her, causing Rachel to let out a squeak.

Puck pumped his fingers in and out of her, kissing down her neck before stopping at her chest. He pulled one breast into his mouth, his tongue swirling around the nipple while his other hand kept massaging the other breast.

Rachel was turning her head to either side, unable to contain herself. She didn't know how long she was going to last with Puck doing what he was doing inside her panties. He had two fingers inside while his thumb was simultaneously playing with her clit. Her breathing was becoming more erratic as she felt the pleasure inside her body building up.

Puck could feel the erection straining in his pants, the entire scenario turning him on. His fingers moved quicker and quicker, causing Rachel to moan louder.

"Fuck it, Rachel," he cursed before yanking her panties down. He left her skirt on because that shit was just too hot to take off. He pulled his pants and boxers down to his knees, quickly pulling out a condom and rolling it on before shoving himself inside her.

Rachel groaned loudly as his two fingers were replaced with all of Noah. He leaned down, placing her knees over his shoulders as he started thrusting into her, going deeper than he ever had before.

"I'm sorry," he grunted as he thrust inside her. "I just had to. Fuck Rachel, you're so tight."

"It's okay baby. I wanted it. Just don't fucking stop," she whimpered, urging him on.

Puck roughly grabbed both breasts, squeezing them tightly which caused Rachel to moan loudly, her hips lifting up to meet each of his thrusts. The movie, long forgotten by now, was still playing in the background.

Puck let go of one of her breasts, his hand returning inside her skirt as he played with her clit again, wanting her to come. He wanted to make sure his girl was satisfied when they were finished.

Rachel gasped as he began playing with her, pleasure coursing through her body. "Faster, baby," she urged, her hands grabbing his hips, her nails digging into his skin.

"Fuck," he cursed loudly. Rachel pulled her hands away instantly. "No, don't stop," Puck groaned. Rachel replaced her hands, her nails scraping down the side of his hips.

Puck leaned down, licking the side of her neck. "Come on, baby," he muttered, continuing to move inside her. "Come for me. I know you want to."

Rachel moved her hips up to his while Puck moved his fingers faster. "Oh god, Noah!" she shrieked, her body writhing as she contracted around him. She squirmed as she rode out her orgasm.

Puck thrust into her a few more times before exploding into the condom. He collapsed on top of her, his arms wrapped around her. Puck kissed the side of her face a few times, pulling out of her. He slipped the condom off and dropped it on the ground.

Rachel smiled up at him, her thumb tracing over his cheekbone. "I love you, Noah."

Puck smiled at her, kissing her lips lightly. "I know you do." He stood up, pulling his boxers and pants back on. He reached down, grabbing her bra and handed it to her.

She sat up, pulling her bra on, kissing Puck's cheek. "Do you want to see the dress Kurt bought for me to wear to prom in case I changed my mind at the last minute?" she asked.

Puck let out an amused chuckle and nodded his head. "I'd love to."

Rachel collected her clothes, bringing them up to her room and dropped them on her bed. She pulled the dress out of her closet and pulled it on. It fit her just right, the dress hugging her body in all the right places.

She pulled a comb through her hair before walking downstairs, barefoot with a hand on the railing of the stairs.

Puck stared at her with a look of awe. "You're beautiful," he whispered, smiling at her. "You should just wear that every day for the rest of your life."

Rachel blushed a little, smiling at him. "You're making that up."

"I'm really not," he murmured, walking over to her and placing an arm around her waist. "Rachel Berry, will you dance with me?" he asked.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "There's no music playing," she said.

"Then put some on and dance with me," he protested. Rachel sighed, turning the stereo on. Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love" started playing.

Rachel placed her hands on Puck's shoulders while his hands found her way to her waist. The two of them swayed to the music. This was their prom—and it was perfect.

"We don't have that much time left in Lima," she whispered, her head resting against his chest.

"No, we don't," he murmured, wishing they had a lot more time. He didn't want to lose her. He knew he was going to. Once she was in LA, she'd find someone who was so much better than him and leave him for the new guy. Puck was just kidding himself if he thought she was going to stay with him.

Rachel pressed her body closer to his. "Promise me something," she whispered, looking up at him.

"Anything," he said, feeling himself choking up a bit.

"Promise me that you're not going to leave me for some badass girl you meet in San Francisco."

Puck laughed. "You're the biggest badass girl I know. I promise I'll never leave you, Rachel. I love you."

"Really?" she asked, still swaying with the music.

Puck pulled her close, nodding his head. "I promise, Rachel. You're the only girl for me."


	24. Chapter 22

"Rachel honey, time to get up."

Rachel groaned, rolling over in bed and looking up into the face of her father. She glanced at the clock and yawned. "Dad, it's not even five in the morning," she whined, pulling her pillow over her head.

"Noah's going to be here at 5:30 to bring you to the school," Leroy sighed. "Come on, get up or you'll miss your trip to Nationals."

Rachel muttered a few choice words before climbing out of bed. Satisfied, Leroy left the room, mentioning that breakfast would be in the kitchen for her when she was ready.

Rachel made her bed quickly, looking over at her clothes which were already laid out. She'd been packed for weeks. This was her last chance at Nationals, after all. If they lost today…well, she didn't even want to think about that possibility.

Rachel pulled on her green dress and silver shoes, her lucky outfit. She needed it today—last time she had flown to Nationals, she'd ended up on an island in the middle of the ocean.

Once she was dressed and made up, Rachel dragged her suitcase down the stairs, leaving it by the front door before walking into the kitchen.

She was getting a major feeling of déjà vu right now, though instead of Finn picking her up, Noah was driving her this time. She just hoped the rest of their previous trip didn't repeat itself.

Rachel took a seat at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of cereal with soy milk and a banana, staying quiet. She was extremely nervous. They were arriving in Boston later that morning, then the competition was tomorrow. Just thinking about it made Rachel want to throw up.

Rachel practically burst out of her seat when she heard a honk from outside their house, knowing Noah was here. She kissed her fathers both goodbye before dragging her suitcase outside, smiling when she saw Noah's beat-up car.

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to be a gentleman and help your girlfriend with her suitcase?" she teased.

Puck chuckled softly, walking over to her and picked up her suitcase, kissing the top of her head, "You look lovely," he said, smiling at her. He lifted her suitcase up with ease, tossing it into his car a moment later.

Rachel climbed into the front seat, covering her mouth as she yawned. She buckled her seat belt as Puck climbed back into the car, starting it and driving away from her house.

"Will you make fun of me if I say I'm nervous to fly?" she asked, looking over at him.

Puck let out a laugh before shaking his head. "Not at all. You have every right to be nervous—we did almost die while making this trip last year," he teased, kissing her cheek.

"Not something to joke about," she muttered, though she couldn't help cracking a smile at that. "Just as long as you're sitting next to me, I don't have anything to worry about," she laughed, taking his hand as the car came to a stop at a red light.

"Well, I'm sure we could convince Mr. Schue to let us be seat partners if we aren't. I did save your life, after all," he laughed.

Rachel smiled, leaning her head back against the seat. "I'm very thankful for that, you know. If you didn't, I wouldn't be getting a second chance at Nationals right now."

Puck leaned over and kissed her forehead before pulling into the parking lot of the school, parking his car next to Sam's truck. He grabbed both his and Rachel's suitcases from the back while Rachel grabbed her carry-on bag, climbing out of the car and walking beside Puck as they approached the rest of the group.

Finn, with his arm around Quinn's shoulders, was standing with Mike and Tina, the two couples engaged in a conversation about who knew what.

Kurt and Blaine were off to the side, standing next to each other while everyone else was sitting on the ground, most of them looking like they were about to pass out. Mr. Schuester wasn't there yet.

Rachel motioned to Puck and the two of them walked up to Blaine and Kurt.

"I see you have your boyfriend trained," Kurt teased, gesturing to Puck holding both suitcases. "I approve."

"Hey, I have not been trained!" Puck protested, placing the bags on the ground."

'Hey, don't put my suitcase on the ground. I don't want it getting messed up." Puck picked up the bag a moment later.

Kurt just shook his head. "Like I said, I approve."

Puck placed his arms around Rachel as the two of them talked with Kurt and Blaine about Nationals and what their chances were.

"Well, without Vocal Adrenaline as a competitor, I think our chances just went up," Puck said.

Kurt nodded. "The blogs are buzzing that we're expected to make at least top five."

"Screw top five, we're going to win the whole fucking thing," Rachel laughed. The three boys looked at her. "What, it's too early for me to be well behaved," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

Puck let out a laugh, pulling her close as Mr. Schuester walked out of the school, his bag slung over his shoulder and their plane tickets in his hand.

Yep, definite déjà vu.

"Alright guys, the bus is on its way over to pick us up," he explained while the entire New Directions gathered in a circle around him. "I have your plane tickets here. I have personally checked each one, along with confirming with the airline, that we all are actually going to Boston."

Rachel let out a small laugh, looking up at Puck and smiling.

"Again, stick with your seat partner," he explained, beginning to pass out the tickets. When Rachel was handed her ticket, she looked at it, glad to see it actually said BOSTON, MA on it. That was a relief.

"Hey, we're next to each other," Puck smiled, pointing at her ticket then showing her his. 12B and 12C. Rachel smiled, kissing him once. "If this plane decides to go down too, at least you have someone next to you who's experienced in surviving disaster situations," he teased.

The bus arrived, and the members of the McKinley High glee club climbed aboard. Rachel and Puck sat in the middle, Rachel taking the spot next to the window. She leaned her head on Puck's shoulder, yawning a little as they left for the airport.

Puck reached over, slipping his hand into Rachel's and laced their fingers together. "You excited?" he whispered, most of the other people on the bus already asleep.

Rachel nodded her head. "Nervous too," she added. "I don't want to fly. I just want to teleport to Boston."

"If that was possible, I would make sure you didn't have to fly. So instead I promise this: if anything happens, I'll keep you safe Rachel." Rachel looked into his eyes, knowing he was telling the truth. With that reassuring thought, she closed her eyes and fell asleep on Puck's shoulder.

xxxxx

"That was the easiest flight I've ever been on," Rachel commented as they walked off the plane, having arrived in Boston's Logan International Airport. "I mean, it wasn't even bumpy during takeoff."

Puck laughed, taking her hand as they joined the rest of their group in the waiting area. "It was. I'm just glad we both made it to the right destination this time."

Once everyone was off the plane, the entire group walked down to baggage claim and picked up their suitcases. They got on the bus waiting for them and were driven to their hotel, where Mr. Schuester checked them in.

Rachel stood next to Puck in the lobby area, looking around. The place was pretty nice—well, nice for a school trip.

Mr. Schuester walked over to them, handing everyone a key to their room. Rachel was rooming with Tina, and since Tina did have a boyfriend, she hoped she wouldn't care if Puck spent time in their room. She knew she wasn't going to be welcome in his room—he was rooming with Finn. Even after everything that had happened between the two of them, they were still best friends. She just didn't think Finn would be okay with her coming into their room to make out with Puck for a bit.

Rachel and Tina made their way up to their room, Rachel claiming the bed near the window. She pulled the curtains open, smiling at the view they had of downtown Boston. Mr. Schuester stopped by the room, telling them to meet at the hotel's restaurant at seven that evening for dinner.

Tina said goodbye to Rachel after he left, having already decided to explore the city with Mike. Rachel gave her a small smile and a wave. She grabbed the key to their room before heading down the hall. 1003…1005…She stopped in front of 1007, knocking a few times on the door.

Please be Noah, please be Noah, please be Noah…

The door opened and Rachel made a face, seeing Finn standing there instead of Puck. "Is Noah here?" she asked in a small voice. Finn seemed to take it personally that she'd been unfaithful to him while she was with Noah on the island, completely forgetting about him nailing Quinn every chance he got when she disappeared.

Finn rolled his eyes at her before leaning back. "Puck! You're girlfriend's here," he called out.

There was a thud and footsteps before Finn was shoved to the side. Rachel smiled, seeing Puck standing in front of her. He leaned down, kissing her once on the lips.

"This is a nice surprise. Do I need to kick Finn out of the room?" he asked.

"I'm not leaving!" Finn shouted, and Rachel could picture him rolling his eyes as he said that.

Rachel shook her head. "No, Tina and Mike left to explore the city. I have the room to myself." She extracted the key from her pocket and held it in front of his face.

Puck seized her hand, dragging her away from the room without another word to Finn. Rachel laughed, jogging a little to keep up with him. She placed the key in the door for room 1002, opening it to find it just as empty as when she left.

"Well, this was nice of Tina," Puck muttered, walking into the room and looking around. He jumped onto Rachel's bed, burying his face in her pillow. "This pillow smells to clean. I think you need to lie down and make it smell like you," he muttered into it.

Rachel laughed, jumping onto the bed next to him, snuggling into his side and kissing the side of his face. "I'm giving you one of my pillows for graduation. You're too obsessed with how my hair smells," she teased.

Puck made a face, flipping her onto her back and kissed the side of her neck. "I am not obsessed," he said defensively. "I just happen to like the way my girlfriend smells. Is that a crime?"

Rachel looked up at him and shook her head. "Not at all. It's sweet, actually," she murmured, her hands running over his chest.

"Want to make out now?" he asked. Rachel nodded her head. Puck leaned his head down, capturing her lips with his. He lay on top of her, his hands on either side of her waist.

Rachel placed her hands on both sides of his face, her lips moving with his while she wrapped her legs around his waist, holding him close to her.

Puck's kisses started out soft, getting harder and harder the more they kissed. Eventually, he pushed his tongue through her lips, twisting it with her tongue in her mouth.

Time seemed to escape Rachel when she was kissing Puck. What felt like minutes to she was actually hours. Rachel's mouth was dry and her lips were cracked, but she still wanted to keep kissing Puck. The only thing that made her pull away was a knock on the door.

"Rachel!" Kurt called, knocking again. "Come on, we have to head to dinner." She ignored him, her hands continuing to explore Puck's bare back, his shirt lost to the floor hours earlier.

"We'll ignore him," she whispered hoarsely, her voice week from kissing.

"Rachel, I know you're in there!" Kurt yelled, refusing to leave.

Rachel sighed, pushing on Puck's chest. He groaned, rolling off her and lied on her bed, staring at the ceiling. "Would you hate me if I kicked his ass right now?"

"No," she said, buttoning her blouse. "I'm prepared to do the same thing when I open the door and yell at him for interrupting us." Rachel hopped off the bed, walking over to the door and pulling it open.

"Well, you look a little rough around the edges," Kurt teased, taking in her disheveled appearance. "Are you planning on going to dinner like that?"

"No, I was planning on changing."

"Well, you should change now. Blaine and I were stopping by to see if you and Puck were ready for dinner."

"Dinner's not for like, a few hours," Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

Kurt and Blaine exchanged looks. "Have you been drinking? It's quarter to seven."

"Fuck," Rachel cursed. "We'll meet you at the elevator in five minutes," she promised, shutting the door in their faces. Rachel ran over to her suitcase, pulling out a simple dress, changing into it before trying to fix her hair that Puck had messed up.

"Baby, what are you doing? I want you to take your clothes off, not put more on," he groaned, looking over at her running around the room.

"Get up," she said, throwing his shirt at him. "Get dressed. We're meeting Blaine and Kurt in a few minutes to head down to dinner."

Puck made a face at her. "It's not time for dinner yet. I want to keep making out," he whined.

"It's almost seven. We have dinner, and then you're going back to your room so I can rest before tomorrow," Rachel ordered. "Now get up before I have to threaten withholding sex when we get home."

Puck threw a pillow at her, rolling out of bed. "You do that and I'll withhold sex from you," he claimed, though they both knew that was impossible for him.

"I went seventeen years without sex. I could survive any ban you put in place," she teased, walking over to him and buttoning his shirt. Rachel stood on her toes, kissing him once. "Now let's go before Kurt breaks my door down," she laughed, taking his hand.

Puck quickly pulled his shoes on before walking out of the room with her, their hands clasped together.

Kurt and Blaine were standing by the elevator, looking very impatient. "Finally!" Kurt said, sounding annoyed. "We thought you decided to get one quick fuck in or something," he teased. Rachel gave him a stern look. "Sorry," Kurt muttered, pressing the down button.

The four teenagers rode the elevator in silence, walking out once they came to a stop on the ground floor. They made their way to the restaurant, finding the rest of their group already seated and waiting for them.

"Finally," Santana muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear. "We thought you guys were never going to get here."

Rachel ignored her, taking a seat at the end of the table next to Puck.

Dinner was uneventful. Rachel sat close to Puck, the two of them engrossed in conversation. Luckily, the restaurant had a few vegan options, so Rachel had a choice when it came to dinner.

Once they were finished eating, Mr. Schuester led them to the ballroom, where they ran through their Nationals routine until they were so tired they could barely keep their eyes open.

Around midnight, the members of New Directions headed to bed, feeling prepared for the competition the next day.

Rachel woke up around nine the next morning, yawning as she sat up in bed. She looked over at the bed next to her, finding Tina still asleep.

Rachel slipped out of bed quietly, heading into the bathroom to take the first shower. They were leaving the hotel at 10:30 to head over to the competition, so Rachel needed to make sure she had enough time to get ready.

She stepped into the shower, taking a quick but warm one. She stepped out, wrapping a towel around her small body. She headed back into their room, finding Tina awake. Rachel nodded to her, letting Tina take the bathroom to shower while Rachel changed into her dress.

The girls of New Directions were wearing blue, knee-length dresses with a wide skirt. The dresses had thin straps and a silver ribbon around the middle. The boys were wearing all black with blue ties that matched the dresses.

Once Tina was out of the shower, Rachel took a turn in the bathroom, doing her hair and makeup. The girls were pulling their hair back in a bun with braids on the side of their head. Tina and Rachel helped one another do their hair, making sure it looked perfect.

Once they were ready, Rachel and headed out of the room and down to the lobby. A few people were there, but most everyone else was still finishing getting ready. Puck, however, was already there.

Rachel smiled, walking over to him. "Hey," she greeted, coming to a stop in front of her boyfriend.

"Wow, you look beautiful," he breathed.

Rachel blushed, pushing against his chest slightly. "Stop, you're just saying that because you have to," she murmured.

"No, it's true. You really do look beautiful right now," he promised, reaching over and brushed her cheek with his thumb. "Tell me how I got so lucky to have someone as beautiful as you in love with me."

"You pulled the short string and sat next to me on a doomed flight," she teased, standing on her toes and pressed her lips to his. Even in heels, Rachel was a good four inches shorter than Puck.

"You say the short string, I say the winning ticket," he laughed, putting an arm around her. Rachel chewed on her lower lip as more and more of their group arrived. They were that much closer to having to perform. "Don't worry, baby. You're going to be amazing today," Puck promised, rubbing Rachel's shoulder.

Once everyone was down, New Directions headed out of the lobby, climbing onto their bus. They drove to the area where Nationals was this year, filing in as a group. Mr. Schuester checked them in while the kids headed in, taking a seat in the audience.

Mr. Schuester walked over to them, taking a seat on the end. "We're performing 15th," he explained as the stage was being set up for the first group. "There's a room in the back for you to sit in before you go on."

Rachel tapped her foot nervously, nodding her head. She barely heard what he said but pretended like she did. She just wanted to get this over with before she threw up from being so nervous.

Finally, the host came onto the stage, introducing the first group from Utah. Rachel watched them perform , her stomach dropping when she saw how good they were. She was feeling less confident in the routine they prepared by the second.

As each new group came out, they were better than the last. She thought she was going to cry—this was her only chance at Nationals, and there was no way they were going to win with these groups performing.

Puck tapped Rachel's shoulder, pointing to the back. Everyone else in New Directions was getting up, planning on heading to the back. They were up in a few groups, after all. Rachel nodded her head, taking his hand and followed him back.

Once they were in the room, Rachel really started freaking out along with everyone else.

"Did you _see_ that group from Iowa? They were better than Vocal Adrenaline ever was!" Mercedes exclaimed, sinking into a chair next to Santana.

Artie nodded his head in agreement. "It's official—we're fucked."

Everyone turned to Rachel, expecting her to tell them they were all awesome, but she just nodded her head in agreement. Artie was right—they _were_ fucked.

Finn stood up, shaking his head. "Guys, don't say that. Yeah, so these groups are better than we thought. But I bet when we perform, they're going to think that about us. We were good enough to make it here. Don't you think that means we're as good as these other groups, if not better? Hell, we beat Vocal Adrenaline at Regionals!"

"Yeah, we kicked those Carmel High jerks' asses!" Brittany said, jumping to her feet.

"Plus, we have a killer routine," Sam added, giving Finn thumbs up. "We've never been better than we are at this moment. We can do this, guys. We just have to believe in ourselves."

Rachel stayed quiet, nodding her head. "Yeah, we can do this," she said quietly, gaining the confidence she needed to go out on stage and perform.

Puck smiled, wrapping his arms around her. "That's right," he whispered in her ear. "You can do this, baby. I believe in you."

One of the stage hands opened the door, informing them they were up next.

"Okay guys, let's do this," Finn said. Everyone gathered in a circle, placing their hands in the middle. "Kick some ass on three?" he suggested.

Everyone nodded their heads. "One, two, three—KICK SOME ASS!" they all shouted, cheering as they walked out of the room.

Rachel was going on first with Santana, they two of them singing a duet. They were singing "When You Believe" by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.

Rachel took Santana's hand, giving it a squeeze. Santana smiled down at Rachel nervously, neither of them able to say anything.

They let go of each other's hands, walking onto the stage when it was their turn. Rachel took the microphone on the left, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath as the music started. She opened her eyes, feeling the strength inside her to begin singing.

She knew it was the perfect choice to sing this song with Santana—their voices just meshed perfectly. She knew Mercedes had wanted the other solo, but Santana's voice just worked better. The two girls sang, looking at each other as they did so.

The rest of New Directions joined them on stage later in the sing, providing backup vocals for them. The song ended, Rachel and Santana smiling at one another before getting into position with the group as the next song started.

They'd chosen "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5 for their second song. Finn and Rachel were singing lead for the song, which meant she and him were dance partners as well.

They'd decided to do more spins instead of lifts for the song. Everyone danced in unison, Rachel and Finn singing the song. Eventually, it came to an end, their last song starting.

The last song they'd picked was a mash up of "She's a Rebel" and "Last of the American Girls" by Green Day. Puck and Sam were singing lead on this song, Mercedes and Tina getting solos as well.

New Directions had decided to be daring with the dances for this song. There were lots of lifts and flips, Mike and Brittany taking the dance lead.

When the song came to an end, there was a huge round of applause for them, people rising to their feet. Rachel was grinning breathing heavily as they ran off the stage.

Rachel jumped into Puck's arms, giving him a big kiss. "We were amazing!" she squealed. "We did so well. And you were amazing singing that last song!" she laughed, hugging him tightly.

"Think we're going to win?" he asked, setting her on the ground.

"I hope so. I think we were the best so far," she laughed, taking his hand and lead him back to the auditorium with the rest of the group, prepared to watch the rest of the performances until the winners were announced.

Watching the rest of the groups perform, Rachel was filled with the same dread as earlier. They were just all so damn good! Maybe New Directions wasn't as good as she thought they were.

After the last group performed. The judges left to discuss their decision for the winners. Everyone sat, their nerves high. Rachel was holding Puck's hand so tightly she cut off his circulation.

After an hour, the judges returned, wheeling in the trophies. "May we have the following groups to the stage? From Portland, Oregon, the Washington High Trebblemakers!"

There was polite applause as a group of teens all dresses in black sparkly outfits made their way to the stage.

"From Rochester, New York, Golden Voices from East High School." More applause. "From Clendenin, West Virginia, High Impact from Herbert Hoover High School!" There was a huge amount of applause for High Impact, making Rachel's stomach jump. Why hadn't they been called yet?

Puck squeezed Rachel's hand, knowing she was nervous. "Relax, it'll be fine," he promised, kissing her forehead.

"From Stafford, Arizona, Taste of Sound from Stafford High School!" There was a lot of cheering for them. "And finally, from Lima, Ohio, McKinley High's New Directions!"

Rachel screamed, jumping up and down as they headed up to the stage, joining the other four groups. Rachel held Puck's hands tightly, the one judge opening the envelope to announce the winners.

"Third place goes to…Golden Voices!" The lead from Golden Voices came up, taking their trophy. The group seemed very pleased with their place.

Rachel stared at the two remaining trophies, hoping one of them was New Directions.

"Second place…Taste of Sound!" There was huge amounts of cheering and clapping as the entire group went up to get the trophy. Rachel was on pins and needles at this point. There was only one trophy left with five groups on stage. This was it.

"And finally our first place winners. This year's first place…New Directions!"

Rachel screamed. They'd won! They'd actually won! She jumped into Puck's arms, kissing him on the lips before running up with Finn to take the trophy. Everyone was celebrating. People were kissing, hugging, and cheering.

It was just so hard to believe that they'd actually _won_. The stage was cleared as they prepared to perform a victory number. Of course, there was only one song for them to sing.

The music started and Finn started singing "Don't Stop Believing", everyone else joining in. Rachel was crying, Puck's arm wrapped around her. This was it. This was what glee club was all about. After three years, they were finally winners.


	25. Chapter 23

"It's tall. What floor are you on again?" Rachel asked, looking up at the building in front of them.

"Twelve. It's a double."

"What's your roommate's name again?"

"Tyler something. He seemed nice when I talked to him on Facebook."

Rachel and Puck were sitting in his car, staring up at the building Puck was going to be living in for the next year.

This was it, the day when he moved into his dorm for college. Rachel had driven up with him to help him move in. She was getting a car service back to LA after dinner and started preparations for filming the next day.

This was probably the last time she was going to see Puck until the holidays. They'd both decided to go back to Lima and see their families. She had a two week break from filming around then, so Puck was going to come down to Los Angeles, then the two of them were going to fly home together.

"You wait here, I'm going to check in and get my keys," Puck said, kissing the side of her head. He got out of his car, walking into the dorm building.

Rachel couldn't believe move in day was already here. She and Noah had spent the summer in Los Angeles after graduation. It had been the best summer of Rachel's life. There had been no parents, no rules, and no curfews. It was just the two of them, partying and fucking every night.

But that time was over. Puck was going to be hundreds of miles away from her. They were only going to be able to communicate through phone and the internet, and Rachel was not looking forward to it.

This was going to be a real test in their relationship. They were going to be living apart while still being together. What if he met someone else while he was at school?

Rachel fidgeted in the car as she watched multiple blonde girls walk by the car. They all looked similar to Quinn, the other girl Puck had loved. What if he decided here that's what he wanted, not her? She didn't know if she'd be able to take it if Puck dumped her for a California-version of Quinn Fabray.

The car door opened and Puck was looking over at her. "You okay, baby?" he asked, a packet in his hand.

Rachel put on a show face and smiled. "Of course I am. I'm just realizing how much I'm going to miss you when I head back to Los Angeles."

Puck let out a laugh, closing the door before heading back to the trunk. Rachel climbed out of the car and saw he had a cart with him.

"What's that for?" she asked as he started loading things from the trunk into the cart.

"To bring my stuff up to my room. I'm sure as hell not carrying it."

Rachel nodded and helped him move his stuff from the car to the cart. It took them three trips, but they finally got everything from his car into his new room. His roommate wasn't there yet, so they had more space to organize and put everything away.

Puck set up his desk while Rachel put all his clothes away. She made his bed, too, before lying down on it.

"Now that's a sight I like," Puck teased.

"What is?" Rachel asked, looking over at him.

"You lying in my bed looking as cute as you always look."

Rachel laughed, throwing his pillow at him. "Of course you like seeing me in your bed," she teased, kicking her shoes off. His stuff was all unpacked, and her time with him was disappearing. She was leaving in five hours.

Puck climbed onto the bed with her, lying next to her with his arms wrapped around her. He nuzzled his face into her neck, his hands resting on her waist. "I think I'm going to miss this most."

"Miss what?" Rachel asked, shifting a little on the bed so she was facing him. She reached her hands up, letting them run over his face.

Puck chuckled, kissing her once. "You, silly girl," he teased. "I was referring to missing cuddling with you in bed, but you in general is what I'm really going to miss. Are you going to call me every day?"

"Of course. Are you going to leave me cute Facebook messages?"

"Whenever I have a chance," he promised. "Are you going to send me wake up texts in the morning?"

"It'll be the first thing I do after I wake up. I'll do it before I even brush my teeth," she laughed. "Are you going to send me good night texts?"

"Right before I go to bed. Even if I'm up at two in the morning studying, I'll send you a text saying good night and I love you," he murmured, kissing the side of her neck.

Rachel smiled, leaning her head back as he kissed up her neck. "Mm, good. You better remember to do all that stuff or I have every right to kick your ass," she laughed.

"Right, ass kicking if I forget," he muttered against her skin, his hands slipping under her blouse.

"Noah, wait," Rachel said, sitting up and pushing her shirt back down. "I have a present for you."

"Is it a present that involves you naked in my bed?" he asked hopefully, giving her a wink.

Rachel rolled her eyes at him. "No, this present involves me keeping all my clothes on and you taking a cold shower," she teased, reaching down and pulling a wrapped box out of her bag. "Here, open it. It's my 'congratulations you're not a fucking idiot' gift. You know, since you somehow managed to get into college despite everyone's assumption you were too dumb."

"Wow, who knew I had suck a supportive girlfriend," Puck said sarcastically, kissing her cheek as he took the box from her. He unwrapped it, taking off the lid.

Inside, there were two things: an oddly decorated picture frame with no photo in it, and a pink pillowcase.

"Um, thanks Rach," Puck said, not sure what to make of the gifts. Was this some kind of joke?

"Don't be an ungrateful asshole. That is the actual pillowcase from my pillow on my bed at home. And I decorated that picture frame just for you. I thought we'd take a picture now for you to put in it."

Puck smiled at her explanation, hugging her tightly. "You, my love, are the best girlfriend on the face of the planet. This pillowcase is never being washed."

Rachel made a face. "That's disgusting."

"Well, if I wash it, it won't smell like the love of my life anymore," he reasoned.

Rachel shook her head, tapping his nose. "You are insane, I hope you know." She kissed him on the lips, holding his face to hers. "Now look up and say cheese," she laughed, holding his camera above their heads.

Puck pulled her close, kissing her cheek as she pressed the button down. There was a flash as the picture was taken.

"Okay, now I want one of just you."

"Why?" Rachel asked, rolling her eyes at him.

"So when people ask me why I won't fuck them, I can show them a picture of the most beautiful girl in the world so they understand."

"Oh, so you want me to make myself really beautiful in this picture?" she asked. Puck nodded his head, holding the camera up. Instead of just simply smiling, Rachel puffed out her cheeks and crossed her eyes.

Puck laughed, taking the picture. "That's perfect. Now everyone will see how perfect my girlfriend is," he teased, tickling her.

"Noah, stop!" she giggled. "You know how I feel about tickling."

"Are you referring to the fact that you are very ticklish and squeal like a pig when I tickle you?" he teased.

"Yes!" she shrieked, though Puck kept tickling her non-stop. Rachel squirmed on the bed, trying to push his hands away, though it was to no avail.

Eventually, she gave up fighting. Puck smirked at that, bending his face down and kissed her, no longer tickling her.

Rachel smiled against his lips, pulling him close to her. Puck lay on top of her small body, one leg on either side of her. His hands were on her waist once more, inching up slowly as he pulled her top up.

Rachel fidgeted underneath him, kissing him deeper as his hands inched their way up to her bra, running over the cotton material. Rachel shivered slightly as she felt his thumbs run over the wire before his hands slipped under the material.

"Noah," Rachel moaned as he gripped her breasts roughly with his hands. "We have to go get dinner soon," she whispered.

"I know, baby," he murmured, kissing down her neck slowly. "But not yet. I want to enjoy the fact that I have you in my bed right now," he teased.

Rachel gave him a look. "Clothes stay on," she warned.

Puck let out a groan. "Come on, Rachel! You're leaving and I'm not going to see you until December."

"I don't want your roommate walking in on me riding your dick. I don't think that would be a good first impression."

"I think it would be a great first impression. He would know I was a champ if he saw that," he laughed, kissing the tip of her nose.

"Regardless, clothes are staying on. Why don't you just lie with me so we can cuddle for a bit before I have to leave?" she suggested.

Puck let out a sigh. Well, it wasn't the same as having her naked in his bed, but at least he got to have his arms around her. Puck pulled his hands out of her shirt and lay beside her, his arms around her body. "I hope you know that I wouldn't just cuddle in bed with any girl except you," he muttered.

Rachel smiled, kissing his cheek. "I know, and I love you for that." She snuggled her head against his chest, her fingers drawing circles on it. "I love you for everything, actually," she teased.

Puck smiled, kissing the top of her head. "Do you have to go back to Los Angeles?" he asked, though he knew the answer.

"I do," she sighed, holding onto him tighter. "I don't want to, but I have to."

The door opened then and Tyler, Puck's roommate, walked in with his parents. He was cute in a Finn sort of way. Rachel could see him and Puck becoming friends. She hoped they did, at least. She didn't want Puck being miserable at school without her.

"Oh," Tyler muttered, seeing Puck and Rachel lying in bed. "Sorry, I didn't realize Puck was going to have company."

Rachel smiled at him, shaking her head. "It's fine, I'm going to be leaving soon, anyways. Noah was just going to take me out to dinner before I head back to LA."

"So you're Tyler?" Puck asked, climbing off the bed and shaking the hand of his new roommate."

"I am. You must be Puck. It's great to finally meet you."

"Likewise," Puck said as Rachel climbed off Puck's bed. "This is Rachel, my girlfriend. Though you're probably never going to see her because she's going to be busy becoming famous in Los Angeles," he teased, kissing her forehead.

"It's nice to meet you, Tyler. Make sure my boyfriend actually goes to his classes so I don't have to tell everyone that I'm dating a college dropout," she teased.

Tyler nodded his head while his parents brought all his things into his room. "Will do."

Rachel bent down, picking up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Why don't you take me out for an early dinner so I can head back to my apartment and get in at a reasonable hour?" she suggested, taking Puck's hand.

Puck waved to Tyler, telling him he'd see him later before he led Rachel out of the room and down the hall to the elevator. They headed down and walked out of the building, climbing into his car.

Puck drove them to a small restaurant close to campus, getting a table right away. Rachel and Puck sat at dinner silently, not saying much. Their imminent separation was getting closer and closer, and neither of them was looking forward to it.

By the time their food arrived, the only words that had been spoken were their orders. Rachel looked up at Puck, a sad expression on her face. "Noah, do you hate me for staying in Los Angeles while you're up here?" she finally asked.

Puck sighed, setting his fork down before walking over to her, kneeling in front of her. "Rachel, I would never hate you for anything. Is this going to be hard? Of course. Am I going to miss you? More than you will ever know. But we're going to get through this because a we love each other, and that's all that matters."

Rachel smiled at him, hugging him around the neck tightly. She kissed him once before letting him up.

They finished dinner, walking out of the restaurant hand in hand. Out front, the car waiting to take Rachel back to Los Angeles was waiting.

Rachel turned to Puck, looking up at him. "I love you," she whispered, standing on her toes and kissed him. "That's never going to change, I promise."

"I know, baby." He hugged her tightly, the two of them standing there lost in each other's embrace.

Rachel finally pulled away, a few tears falling down her face. "I'll see you in December," she whispered, waving as she climbed into the car.

Puck watched the car drive away, Rachel getting further and further away from him. He frowned, one tear falling out of his eye. He was going to miss her .

Rachel sat in the back seat of the car, crying. She couldn't believe they were being separated again. They had just gotten back together, and now they were apart once more.

She heard a small chime and picked up her phone, seeing she had a new message. She flipped the phone open, reading the text.

**Chin up, baby. Remember that more than anything, I love you—Noah **

Rachel couldn't help but laugh a little, reading the message over and over. He did love her. Rachel supposed it didn't matter where they were or how far apart they were—if they were 200 feet or 200 miles away, they were always going to love each other. And that was all that mattered.


	26. Epilogue

_Seven Years Later_

"I still don't see why you're doing _his_ show," Puck muttered, walking into the studio, hand in hand with Rachel.

"Because Jesse is my oldest friend and he's the only reason I'm out here. Without him, I don't know where I'd be," she said. "So be nice."

"I will if he is," Puck mumbled under his breath, earning a glare from Rachel.

"Look, I have to promote my movie. Jesse has one of the most popular talk shows on TV right now, plus he's a friend. So stop this stupid male jealously thing you have going on before I send you home."

"Fine, fine, I'm shutting up now," Puck said, dragging an invisible zipper across his lips. Rachel smiled, standing on her toes and kissing him once.

Puck smiled down at her, putting an arm around her shoulders as he walked her towards backstage so she could get ready for the show. He left her, promising he'd be in the audience watching the whole time.

Rachel walked back alone, taking a seat in makeup and hair, staying quiet. It had been a good seven years in LA. Puck had been at school for one year before he transferred to UCLA, unable to be that far from Rachel.

The movie about the plane crash turned out to be a huge hit. Rachel even ended up with an Oscar nomination, but not a win. After that, she had offers from every studio to do movies for them, putting her New York dreams on hold. She still hadn't left the west coast, but she was planning to soon—she'd just been cast in a revival of Funny Girl that was set to open in six months on Broadway. Her dreams were finally coming true.

"Finally she's here!" Rachel looked up, seeing Jesse strolling over to her with a smirk on his face. "Better late than never," he teased.

"I was five minutes late, Jesse," she laughed, aiming a kick in his general direction.

"It's good to see you, Rach. You've been so busy with that damn movie that we've barely even talked."

Rachel smiled at him, patting his hand. "I know, I know. But I finally have some time off. _Maxwell_ doesn't start shooting for another few months, and _The Valley of the Daisies_ has been put on hold for the time being."

"Then we're doing lunch next week. I need to hear what's going on in your life."

Rachel bit her lip, looking up at him. "I have a favor."

"A favor?" he asked. "I'm intrigued. Ask away, my dear."

"You know I can't lie for shit, right?"

"Not only do I know, I exploit it," he teased. "I'm not sure where this is turning into a favor, however. If you committed a murder, I refuse to lie to the cops for you."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "No, I didn't commit a murder. I just need you _not_ to ask personal questions, especially those concerning about potential living things in my abdominal area."

Jesse seemed confused for a moment before it hit him. He looked at Rachel, then her stomach, then back at her face. "You're knocked up."

Rachel's face went red as she nodded. "I found out last week."

"Rachel, this is big news! You have to break the news on my show today! Tell me ev—"

"Noah doesn't know yet."

"And why not? Is he not the fa—"

"Jesse, of course he's the father. He's the only guy I've ever slept with. I'm not cheating on him."

"Well, were you two trying to get pregnant?"

"Of course not. We're not even engaged, let along married. We've never talked about kids or anything like that."

"So what are you going to do?"

I don't know," she admitted. "This is just too much to take in. I don't know if he's even going to want this baby. He'll probably break up with me as soon as he finds out."

Jesse sighed, taking a seat beside Rachel. "No, he won't. Puck loves you more than anything else in the world."

"How would you know that?" she asked, running her fingers through her hair.

"Because when you were here and he was in San Francisco that first year, he called almost every day to make sure you were okay. He cares about you more than anything, and he'll care about that baby in your stomach too." Jesse leaned over, kissing Rachel's forehead. "You need to relax about this. It's all going to work out okay."

Rachel nodded her head, watching him walk away. She hoped he was right.

"…I'd like to introduce my next guest. You all know her as the star of _Into Your Arms_, the movie about the worst time of her life. My good friend, Miss Rachel Berry!"

Puck grinned, leaping to his feet and applauding as Rachel walked out onto the stage. She looked as beautiful as she always did, dressed in the blue dress he had picked out for her that morning.

Rachel smiled, giving Jesse a hug before sitting down in the chair next to his. "So you decided to come back," he teased.

Rachel laughed, crossing her legs. "Only because you blackmailed me."

"You look good, especially taking into account that you were late getting here. Hair and makeup must have really been working overtime." That earned a laugh from the audience.

"I was five minutes late, and that was only because Noah hated the first dress I put on. He was okay with it until he found out it was your show we were going on. Then he tried to force me into a parka." Another round of laughs.

"Ah, well I suppose I can't blame him for that. Though for future references, parkas are a major turn on for me," he joked as Rachel laughed.

"You never told me if you're coming or not," she said, leaning in a little closer to Jesse.

"Coming to what?" he asked.

"Noah and I are having a barbeque on Sunday. I need to know if you're coming or not so I make sure we have enough food. You eat as much as three grown men do," she teased.

"Do not, I eat enough for two. And anyways, you never sent me an invitation."

"Yes, I did. I sent you an e-vite."

"What the hell is an e-vite?" he asked, giving her an odd look.

"An email invitation. You just click yes or no. It's so much easier than sending out actual invitations."

"Well, I still didn't get it."

Rachel let out a sigh and rolled her eyes to everyone's amusement. "Well, then this is me inviting you now. Jesse St. James, will you please come to my house on Sunday for Noah and mine's barbeque?" she asked.

Jesse laughed and nodded his head. "Of course I will. Am I allowed to bring Dianna or is it a no-date kind of thing?"

"No, you can bring her. Are you actually going to show up this time?"

"Of cour—why wouldn't I show up?"

"Well, when Noah and I invited you to dinner two weeks ago, you said you'd come and then didn't show up. Do you know how much extra food we had?" she laughed.

"Fair enough," he conceded. "Though I thought you were on here to talk about your new movie, not harass me about going to barbeques and not showing up for dinners?" he teased.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So I'm in this new movie called _We Own the Night_. It's about this girl named Charlie—played by me—who drops out of college right before her senior year and goes on a journey across the country with her best friend. It was a lot of fun to make, actually. Lindsay Pulsipher plays Sara, my friend."

"And what was working with her like?"

"Oh, it was a ton of fun. She's the nicest girl I've ever met, actually. We always tried to get the other one to mess up while filming, though. That was fun."

"So, what's up next for the talented Rachel Berry?"

"I have a movie that starts shooting in a few months, and next year I'm headed to New York!" she said, letting out an excited squeak.

"New York?" Jesse asked.

"Yes. They're reviving _Funny Girl_ and they've asked me to play the lead!"

"Oh, Rach, that's so exciting! Congratulations. What about Noah—how does he feel about the move across the country?"

Rachel looked over at him and smiled, giving him a wink. "He's okay with it. We talked things over and he agreed to follow me so I could pursue my dreams. He's the best."

"So, any wedding bells in the future for you two?"

Rachel blushed, laughing quietly. "As my dad always said: if it's not broke, don't try and fix it. We've been together for eight years and that seems to work out great for us. I don't see the need to get married anytime soon." She placed her hands on her stomach, feeling butterflies.

The truth was, she wanted to get married. She was going to have a baby, an actual baby. She wanted to be married to Noah before she brought a child into the world. He, however, had made himself clear when they were younger—no marriage.

Jesse showed a trailer of Rachel's new movie before giving her a hug goodbye. She waved to the audience, heading back stage.

Puck was there waiting for her, her coat in his hands. "Let's get out of here."

Rachel nodded, taking his hand and walking outside the studio. The two of them were greeted by flashing cameras. Rachel stepped closer to Puck as he tried to clear the paparazzi away from them.

It was getting close to dinner, so Puck led them towards the car that was waiting for them, telling the driver the restaurant they were planning on eating at.

Puck took her hand when they arrived, leading Rachel inside the restaurant. He gave the host their name and the two were led to their table, one all the way in the back, away from prying eyes.

Puck kissed Rachel's cheek, telling her he'd be right back. Rachel nodded, watching him disappear towards the bathroom.

She bit her lip, placing her hands on her stomach. There was a baby in there, an actual baby. The doctor said she was close to three months along, though she had just found out she was pregnant. She knew this would affect her New York plans, but she supposed she could get the producers to try and postpone the show by a bit. If not…well, there were always other shows.

Puck stood by the front, watching Rachel at the table. He smiled as she watched her stomach.

Of course he knew she was pregnant. He knew her body better than the back of the hand. Her breasts were slightly bigger, her stomach a bit more round. When he first realized it, he started freaking out. Rachel was pregnant with _his_ child. He'd been through this once before, he wasn't sure if he wanted to do it again.

But that was high school with his best friend's girl. He was older now, and the mother this time was the girl he had fallen head over heels for. Of course, they weren't married, but who cared.

His mom, that's who. She'd be furious when she found out he knocked Rachel up without marrying her first.

So he started looking for rings online when he was supposed to be working. It didn't matter—he was the boss. He could do anything he wanted.

Finally, he found the perfect one, the one he knew Rachel would love. So he bought it. And he was going to ask her to marry him.

Tonight.

Puck reached into his pocket, grabbing the small velvet box. He wasn't sure if he was ready to make this leap, to actually marry someone.

But then he looked at Rachel, cradling her flat stomach in her arms, beaming at it. He knew he was making the right decision then.

Smiling, he walked over to the table, smiling at Rachel as he did so, ready to finally take the biggest step of his life.

**AN: Oh, I'm so sad it's over I hope you all enjoyed this story. I loved writing it so much. It was such a silly little idea, I never thought people would like it as much as they did.**

**I'm planning on writing another multi-chapter story—I already have the idea in my head, I just have to put it down on paper. It's going to be a future-fic, Puckleberry, of course! **

**I also posted a little one-shot today that if anyone's interested in reading it. **

**I want to take this time to thank all my readers who stuck with this story from the beginning. You're what kept me writing this story. I love you all.**


	27. Ever the Same

PS: I just started a sequel to _Into Your Arms _called _Ever the Same_. It takes place five years after the epilogue. Rachel and Noah are having marriage problems. They're on their way to the opening of a resort on their former island when disaster strikes and they're put in a similar position. Now they must do everything to survive and get back home to their son, which may be the one thing they need to find their way back to one another.

Just go to my profile and check it out if you'd like to!


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